Herb-crusted salmon

Herb-crusted salmon with arugula salad

My favorite way to cook salmon is also the simplest. Slather it in tangy mustard, crust it thickly with herbs, and sauté it quickly in a skillet until the skin is crispy and the center is medium-rare. Crispy salmon skin is like the bacon of the pescatarian world, and I highly recommend you give it a try if your usual inclination is to scrape it off. I am baffled that so many "easy" salmon recipes call for baking or broiling it. Cooking it on the stovetop means you have much more control over the cooking process, get a bacony crisp skin, and don't have to wait for the oven to heat up. I love to serve this perched on top of my arugula salad with shaved parmesan and lemon.

Herb-crusted salmon
2 salmon filets (boneless, skin-on), about .75-1 lb
2 t Dijon or grainy mustard
1 t Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence
1 t cracked black pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
1 T canola or olive oil

serve with lemon

Slather mustard on all sides of the filets, then sprinkle with spices, salt, and pepper. If you have a few minutes, let it marinate. If not, no worries!

Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Place salmon skin side down and sauté for four minutes. Cooking it skin side down first helps render some of the fat under the skin and gets it super crispy without overcooking the flesh. Lower heat to medium-low and flip salmon, cooking for 3-4 minutes, or until desired level of doneness is reached. This will get you to medium-rare territory. One hint about the doneness of your salmon is whether the sides are still translucent. A medium-rare fish will have a little translucency left in the thickest part of the side. A medium-well fish will have fully cooked sides. To keep the skin crispy, serve skin-side up.