Poached Salmon Recipe With Spring Greens, Peas & Potatoes
Each year, Spring rolls around and I’m inspired once again to create new recipes. And this poached salmon recipe with spring greens, peas and potatoes is the result of that. The weather is beautiful, I’m harvesting herbs and greens from my garden, and inspired to get creative in the kitchen. I hope you love this simple poached salmon recipe! I’ll walk through how to poach salmon in a pan for beginners. As well as how to fry salmon with the skin on. This recipe tastes and looks complex, but it really is so simple. Plus a great way to use the beginning of your garden harvests!
I want to kick-off this poached salmon recipe by making note of the vegetables in this dish.
If you’ve followed my other recipes before, then you know most ingredients on the list are optional and can easily be substituted as needed.
And that’s exactly the case for the vegetables in this poached salmon recipe! Yes, it’s delicious with Spring greens, peas and potatoes. But if you are harvesting other veggies from your garden while making this, please do feel free to substitue!
What Other Vegetables Go Well With Poached Salmon
There’s so many fantastic garden vegetables that would pair nicely with this recipe. Here’s a few ideas that come to mind:
- Asparagus
- Spring garlic
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Kale
- Broccoli/broccoli raab
If you make this dish with other veggies, please do comment below and let me know! I’d love to hear what you try. And try it myself too.
What Does It Mean To Poach Salmon?
“Poaching” or “to poach” is a term that simply means cooking in a liquid.
You could poach salmon (and other fish) in wine, broth, stews, curries and more.
But in the case of this poached salmon recipe with Spring greens, peas and potatoes, we are poaching the salmon in a coconut milk broth.
Poaching fish is a beloved cooking method because it allows the fish to get nice and tender. In this poached fish recipe, we’ll poach our salmon at a low temperature to ensure it does not overcook but absorbs all the flavours of the broth.
How Do You Poach Salmon With Skin On Step-By-Step?
Here’s my easy 4 step process to successfully poaching salmon:
Step 1: Sear salmon skin down in a hot pan with oil
This comes before the actual act of “poaching” your salmon in liquid. But it’s important for two reasons.
- It will make your salmon juicy and tender
- It will crisp up the skin on your salmon
To sear salmon, place it skin down in a hot pan with oil of your choosing (I like using a high quality extra virgin olive oil).
Sear for 1-3 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fish) on the skin side only.
Step 2: Let salmon sit while preparing broth
Remove the salmon from the hot pan and set aside with the skin side up. This will ensure the skin stays crispy.
At this point your salmon should not be fully cooked. It will finish cooking once it’s poached.
Now, using the same pan as you seared your salmon in, begin preparing your broth.
Add additional oil (as needed) onions, garlic, ginger, basil, chives, miso, water and coconut milk. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes before adding potatoes.
Step 3: Gently submerge salmon into poaching liquid
Once potatoes are nearly fully cooked through, add remaining vegetables.
The last step is to add your salmon back into the poaching liquid.
Gently submerge your salmon into the broth skin side up with a spatula. Place the fish in the middle of the pan.
The liquid should cover most of your salmon.
Step 4: Poach for 5-8 minutes or until light pink
Place the lid on your pan and poach your salmon for 5-8 minutes at medium-low heat.
Adjust the time based on the thickness of your salmon (thicker salmon will require an addition 2-3 minutes).
To check if your salmon is fully poached, use a fork and gently pull at the middle.
How Do You Know When Poached Salmon Is Done?
You’ll know your poached salmon is perfectly done if it’s easy to pull apart, moist and light pink or slightly shiny.
If your salmon is flaky, white or falling apart, it’s over cooked.
If your salmon is squishy or translucent in color, it’s undercooked and needs a few more minutes.
What Ingredients Do You Need For Poached Salmon Recipe With Spring Greens, Peas & Potatoes
Here’s my full ingredient list of everything you’ll need for my easy poached salmon recipe:
- Wild caught salmon with the skin-on
- High quality extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Ginger root
- Spring baby potatoes
- Asian greens (Bok choy, Tat Soi, Gai Lan)
- Fresh green peas
- Canned coconut milk
- Light miso paste — can not be substituted, key to the dish!
- Water
- Salted butter
- Lemon
- Fresh chives
- Fresh basil
Light Spring Fish Recipe
I hope you love this poached salmon recipe with Spring greens, peas and potatoes as much as my family and I do!
We’ve recently added it to our meal rotation. It’s a light and refreshing Spring fish recipe. Plus a one-dish recipe. All good things!
If you do make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below letting others know what you thought of it.
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Poached Salmon Recipe With Spring Greens, Peas & Potatoes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Poaching
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy and light poached salmon recipe is perfect as the weather gets warmer. The Spring greens, peas and potatoes can likely be found fresh at the farmer’s market or harvested from your garden. It’s such a stunning dish to make that looks complex yet is really simple.
Ingredients
2 wild salmon filets with the skin on (about 6–8 ouces/filet) cut in half
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp of garlic powder
Salt & pepper to your taste
1 yellow onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 small piece of ginger (1″) grated
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of light miso paste
3 cups of baby potatoes with skin on cut in half
1 cup of fresh or frozen green peas
1 large head of Asian-style greens (Bok Choy, Gai Lan, Tat Soi)
2 cans of full-fat coconut milk
2 tbsp of salted butter
Handful of finely chopped chives
Handful of finely chopped basil
Additional basil leaves to garnish
Juice of half a lemon
Instructions
1. Prepare your salmon by thawing (as needed) and cutting pieces in half (also as needed) so they fit in your pan. Next, season your salmon with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
2. Set your element to medium-high heat and add olive oil to a large pan. Let oil heat. Once gently sizzling, add salmon to pan with the skin down.
3. Sear salmon skin for 2-3 minutes or until skin is crispy. Then remove from pan, setting aside with the skin side up. This will ensure the skin does not get soggy. Your salmon will not be fully cooked at this point. You are just searing the skin.
4. Using the same pan your salmon was in, add onions, garlic and ginger. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then reduce heat and add water and miso paste. Stir until miso is fully dissolved.
5. Add potatoes and coconut milk to your pan and cover. Let simmer at medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are nearly fully cooked through.
6. Remove lid and add in peas. Let simmer covered for another 3-5 minutes.
7. Remove lid again and add in greens, stirring them until they are fully covered in the broth. Next add in the salmon with the skin side up, gently submerging it in the sauce.
8. Cover once more for another 4-6 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fish) or until salmon is full cooked through. To check if your salmon is done, use a fork to gently pull back a piece. If salmon is opaque and moist, it is ready. If salmon is translucent and/or mushy, it needs more time.
9. Once salmon is fully cooked through, add in herbs and lemon juice.
10. Serve with fresh bread or as is!
Notes
- While many ingredients in this dish, such as the vegetables, can be substituted, the miso can not. It’s key to the flavour and saltiness of the broth.
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