Creamy tuscan salmon recipe in one pan, ready in 25 minutes

2 days ago

3 min read

Updated: 2 hours ago

Seared salmon fillets in a creamy parmesan sauce with spinach and cherry tomatoes in a black skillet

One pan, 25 minutes, restaurant sauce

The whole appeal of this dish is the sauce, and the sauce is built from the fond the salmon leaves behind. Sear the fillets hard, pull them out while they are still slightly underdone, then let garlic, cream and parmesan lift everything stuck to the pan. The salmon goes back in for the last two minutes and finishes in the sauce.

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Why this one works

Twenty-five minutes, one skillet, and the sauce comes together while the salmon rests.
Pulling the fish at 125F and letting it finish in the sauce is what keeps it silky instead of chalky.
Sun-dried tomatoes do a lot of quiet work here — they bring the acidity that stops a cream sauce from feeling heavy.

At a glance

Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 17 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Protein: 40g per serving
Calories: 612 per serving

Ingredients

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Salmon

4 salmon fillets, about 6 oz (170g) each, skin on
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil

Tuscan cream sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 packed cups baby spinach
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Squeeze of lemon, to finish

Instructions

Dry and season. Pat the salmon completely dry, especially the skin — any moisture will steam instead of sear. Season both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Sear skin side down. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high until it just begins to smoke. Lay the fillets skin side down, press each one flat with a spatula for 10 seconds so the skin makes full contact, and leave them for 5 minutes. The skin should release on its own when it is crisp.
Flip briefly and remove. Turn the fillets and give them 2 minutes on the flesh side only. Move them to a plate — they will be underdone in the middle and that is exactly right. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of fat.
Start the sauce. Drop the heat to medium and add the butter. Once it foams, add the garlic and cook 45 seconds until fragrant but pale. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes and cook 3 minutes, pressing some of the cherry tomatoes so they burst.
Deglaze. Pour in the white wine and scrape every brown bit off the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble down by half, about 2 minutes. This is where most of the flavour actually comes from.
Build the cream. Add the cream, Parmesan and Italian seasoning and simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens enough to coat a spoon. Stir in the spinach and let it collapse, about 1 minute.
Finish the salmon in the sauce. Nestle the fillets back into the pan skin side up, spoon sauce around them, and simmer 2 minutes more until the centres reach 130F / 54C. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and serve straight from the skillet.

Notes and swaps

Skinless fillets work. Sear 4 minutes on the first side instead of 5.
To keep the skin crisp, serve the fillets skin side up and spoon the sauce around rather than over them.
Half-and-half will work but the sauce is thinner and more likely to split. Keep the heat low if you use it.