Roasted Salmon with Pesto Potatoes
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This roasted salmon with pesto potatoes is an easy weeknight dinner that’s packed with flavor and comes together in under an hour. Waxy potatoes are tossed with pesto and Parmesan cheese, then roasted until golden and crispy, while salmon fillets bake until tender and flaky. Finished with sun-dried tomatoes for a punch of savory sweetness, this sheet pan-style salmon dinner is simple to prepare and perfect for busy nights. Roast the potatoes first, then add the salmon at the end to ensure it cooks gently and stays moist without overcooking. If you’re in the mood to keep cooking more weeknight recipes, this loaded burger bowl and sautéed shrimp with shishitos and corn are great next steps.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Potatoes – Baby gold potatoes are small, buttery potatoes with a delicate skin. I boil the potatoes until they are tender to cut down the cooking time in the oven. I love their size – the smaller potatoes mean a higher ratio of crispy exterior to soft, tender insides. Yukon gold potatoes can be substituted but may need to be quartered if they are on the larger side.
- Salmon – While the most common type of salmon sold in stores is Atlantic salmon, there are many other varieties. Atlantic salmon is more fatty and thicker than sockeye salmon. The salmon is simply seasoned with salt and pepper before it’s roasted in the oven at a high heat until it’s just cooked through.
- Parmesan cheese – Parmesan Reggiano is definitely one of my favorite cheeses. It’s a hard cow’s milk cheese aged for different lengths of time. I’d recommend buying a roughly cut piece of wrapped cheese from the grocery store – it’s typically a higher quality cheese.
- Pesto – I make a batch of my homemade pesto recipe and use half for pasta and save the other half for this recipe. I toss the potatoes in the pesto before roasting and drizzle some over the salmon filets for an extra flavor punch.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – When buying sun dried tomatoes for this dish, make sure you get the ones packed in olive oil, not the dried kind that comes in a bag. Since they are packed in olive oil, they are flavorful moist tomatoes instead of ones that can be hard to chew. I slice them into small strips before adding them.
How to Make Roasted Salmon with Pesto Potatoes
Step 1: Boil potatoes.
Heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Add the potatoes to a large saucepan, cover with water by 1” (2.5cm) and bring the water to a boil. Cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let the potatoes completely dry.
Step 2: Toss with pesto.
Add to a bowl and toss with the butter, pesto and ½ cup (45g) of the Parmesan cheese, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Add parmesan to baking sheet.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the remaining Parmesan over it. Spread the potatoes over the top, placing them cut side down.
Step 4: Roast potatoes.
Roast the potatoes until they are golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is crispy, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Step 5: Prep salmon.
Add the salmon filets to a baking sheet, skin-side down. Drizzle the salmon filets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Step 6: Roast salmon.
Towards the end of the potatoes cooking, add the salmon to the oven and roast until just cooked through, about 12 minutes.
Step 7: Assemble and serve.
Divide the arugula among the serving bowls and top with the potatoes and salmon. Drizzle remaining pesto over the top and add the sun dried tomatoes. Serve hot.
Swaps and substitutions
- Potatoes: The baby gold potatoes can be swapped for another type of potato like Yukon gold. They may need to be quartered if they are on the larger side.
- Fish: Atlantic salmon can be swapped with sockeye salmon in this recipe but be sure to adjust the cooking time. Thinner salmon filets will cook much more quickly.
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Roasted Salmon with Pesto Potatoes
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Ingredients:
For the pesto potatoes:
- 1 pound baby gold potatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup pesto
- 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- Kosher salt as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper as needed
For the salmon and assembly:
- 1¼ pounds salmon cut into 4 filets
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper as needed
- 2 cups wild arugula
- ¼ cup pesto
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
Instructions:
For the pesto potatoes:
- Heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Add the potatoes to a large saucepan, cover with water by 1” (2.5cm) and bring the water to a boil. Cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let the potatoes completely dry.
- Add to a bowl and toss with the butter, pesto and ½ cup (45g) of the Parmesan cheese, seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the remaining Parmesan over it. Spread the potatoes over the top, placing them cut side down.
- Roast the potatoes until they are golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is crispy, about 25 to 30 minutes.
For the salmon and assembly:
- Add the salmon filets to a baking sheet, skin-side down. Drizzle the salmon filets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Towards the end of the potatoes cooking, add the salmon to the oven and roast until just cooked through, about 12 minutes.
- Divide the arugula among the serving bowls and top with the potatoes and salmon. Drizzle remaining pesto over the top and add the sun dried tomatoes. Serve.
Nutrition:
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Such an easy weeknight dish that everyone loves. The salmon is perfectly flaky, and the pesto beats any other style of potato I’ve made recently. Soooooo good, highly recommend.