Simple Salmon with Pistachio Salsa & Ginger Cream
If you love ginger like I do, you have to make this ASAP!
The ginger sour cream is so so delicious and makes the most refreshing sauce for simple roast salmon.
Plus there’s the beautiful crunch of pistachios.
And the fragrance of basil.
Like I said you have to make this one!
To give credit where it is due, the idea for the ginger cream and pistachio salsa combo came from Yotam Ottolenghi.
If you don’t have his ‘Simple’ book, it’s a worthy addition to your collection.
The Ottolneghi version of course has way more than 6-ingredients.
But my simple rendition is just as delicious!
Simple Salmon with Pistachio Salsa & Ginger Cream
Ingredients
- 2 salmon or other fish fillets
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 150 mL sour cream 1/2 tub
- 75 g pistachios shelled roast
- 1 bunch basil
- 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
Instructions
- Turn your oven to 250C. Place salmon on a baking tray. Rub with a little oil and season generously with salt. Pop in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile stir together sour cream and ginger with a pinch of salt.
- Coarsely chop pistachios and place in a small bowl. Finely chop half the basil and add to the pistachios. Stir in lemon / lime juice and 2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably not extra virgin to keep the flavour more about the pistachios and basil but if you only have extra virgin use it). Taste the salsa and season with salt as needed.
- When the timer goes, check the salmon. It should be brown on top and the flesh should look mostly opaque and cooked when you cut into it. I like it still a little pink but it’s up to you. Give it a few minutes longer if you’re not sure.
- When the salmon is cooked, divide ginger cream between two plates. Top with salmon and spoon over the salsa and the remaining basil leaves.
Nutrition
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – Cashew sour cream. Basil = frozen greens.
short on time / no oven – you can pan fry the fish instead.
vegetarian – the ginger cream + pistachio salsa would be amazing on grilled eggplant or zucchini. Or on a big batch of roast veg.
dairy-free – stir the ginger into this cashew yoghurt, some hummus, almond hummus, mayonnaise or this lemon tahini sauce.
nut-free – replace pistachios with pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds. Or for a completely different vibe use chopped olives or toasted sourdough bread crumbs.
different nuts – shelled pistachios can be expensive! Sub in any nut especially sliced almonds, whole cashews or macadamias.
more substantial (carb lovers) – warm pita bread or steamed potatoes, roast sweet potato.
more substantial (low carb) – avocado. Extra nuts. Extra sour cream.
Low FODMAP – replace pistachios with macadamias.
different herbs – mint, coriander (cilantro) or parsley can be substituted for the basil.
different protein – any fish, poached or fried eggs, chicken breast or thigh fillets. Or a roast whole chicken. Lamb cutlets. Pork Chops. Or see the vegetarian options.
more fancy / for entertaining – it doesn’t need this but if you really want to show off, sprinkle over some pomegranate seeds. And serve with a fancy salad like my Lime & Tahini Kale Salad, Broccoli with Addictive Walnut Crumbs (minus the fish), ‘Best Ever’ Tabbouleh or Spiced Roast Chicken & Cauliflower Salad with Tahini Dressing (minus the chicken).
Waste Avoidance Strategy
salmon fillets – freeze them.
grated ginger – freeze it.
sour cream – in the fridge in the packaging it was purchased in.
roast pistachios – keep it in the pantry.
basil – store in a plastic bag in the fridge for 1-2 days. For longer storage wash and spin dry the leaves in a salad spinner then wrap loosely in paper towel and place inside plastic bag. Push out most of the air and seal. Store in the fridge. For long term make pesto or basil oil.
lemon / limes – whole lemon/lime will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
Prepare Ahead
No this is best when freshly made. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen but the basil will be all wilted.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Just finished and it was delicious even although the fresh Aussie Salmon is not as healthy. I did noticed my sauce was much thicker than yours, must be due to different sour cream. mine was very thick but added a little lemon juice. Salsa was so refreshing. Did serve with some diced roasted vegies and baby spinach.
Hi Jules I am making this tonight but no Alaskan Salmon. Where do you buy your frozen Wild Alaskan salmon, here in Australia?
I was getting it from these guys in Sydney Rachel
https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-a-flax-egg/
But these days I just use farmed salmon from my fishmonger. It’s easier and tastes better 🙂
Just made this for our lockdown lunch! So yum! Thank you! Very fresh and something different!
So glad you enjoyed Sonja!
I tried this tonight (using some cashews I had on hand), and it was so fresh and bright! Drizzling things on the plate instead of as a top dressing always feels backwards to me — but here it makes made a wonderful mixing of flavorful layers: ginger-cream, fish, and salsa.
Many thanks to Christine for suggesting Mark Bittman’s method for roasting the fish, which worked beautifully for me too.
Fantastic Karen! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
I haven’t tried it yet but the ginger cream and pistachio salsa sound fantastic. Tomorrows’ supper.
I live on the west coast of Canada and have access to fresh, sustainably caught salmon. I use Mark Bittman’s method of cooking salmon.
‘Butter some parchment paper and lay the 6 oz fillets on, skin side up. Put into a 300fahrenheit oven for 12 minutes. After 12 mins the skin should peel off easily and the salmon is perfectly cooked.’ (should register about 120fahrenheit)
I love my salmon moist and this just does it. As an extra treat, I take the peeled-off skin and grill it on high heat until slightly crispy. It’s great as is or in a salmon skin hand roll with avocado, nori and shiso. YUM! (and no waste)
oh Christine – I LOVE the idea of grilling the skin – yum!
I tried this recipe because the description was intriguing. It did not disappoint! I loved all the flavors, and am impressed that you made a complex-tasting recipe out of minimal ingredients! My 18 year old son really enjoyed it, and even my husband, who is not fond of fish!
Thank you Jules!
Fantastic Cynthia! My Irishman is also a bit funny about fish and he likes this 🙂
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the ginger cream. How wrong I was. This was delicious and quickly prepared for a late return home. Just beautiful Jules
So glad you enjoyed it Martina!
Jx
The pistachio salsa alone is truly delicious – want to add it to everything! Thank you for another delicious recipe!
I want to add it to everything as well 🙂
Found some lactose free sour cream and made this recipe as is. We loved the combination of creamy ginger sauce combined with crunchy pistachios. So good! I especially loved finding something special my daughter with all of her allergies could eat. Thanks Jules for the inspiration.
So glad you enjoyed Sandy! And lovely to hear from you. I hope you’re keeping well.
Can’t wait to have this again – abslutely delish but will try with the yogurt next time
was given big bag fresh parsley from friends garden so just used it & roasted macadamias!
Also roasted some cauli in the air fryer last week & it worked quite well.thank you Jules
Wonderful Carolyn! Yay for macadamias.
I roasted cauli in the air fryer as well – mine needs more work 🙂
My husband really loved this and wants it again – VERY high praise indeed. I used a mix of toasted slivered almonds and pine nuts as I had no pistachios. I add these to the salsa, made with Vietnamese mint(lots in a pot) and parsley. I use lactose free sour cream as I’m lactose intolerant. A few cherry tomatoes and chunks of roast sweet potato completed this very quick and wonderful dish. I’ll be making it frequently as it’s so simple and delicious.
Oh glad you’re getting the praise you deserve Margot!
If you want another dairy-free option, I’ve been adding grated ginger to my almond hummus and this cashew sauce – both are wonderful. And I think better than the sour cream.
Jx
Cooked this for a second time in the 10 day simple meal challenge & loved it again! Used half the pistachios & it was still lovely & mixed some lemon in with the sour cream to thin it down a bit – Yum!
Oh yum Deb!
Oh, YUM!!!!!!! Made this for dinner tonight and it was so good! I did the salsa with cilantro in place of basil, and used lime juice. I also used Greek yogurt in the ginger cream, because I no longer buy sour cream. I did not hear my husband rave (he almost never does), but I didn’t hear any negative, either. And he ate his whole serving. So I will definitely be making this again. I am wondering if, when you said filets, you meant salmon steaks. At least in the US filet apparently means the whole side of a fish, vs. a steak which is cut crosswise.
Glad you enjoyed Susan!
And good to know the ginger cream works with yoghurt as well (not surprised though)
MY Irishman is a little like your husband in that he rately raves – but when he does you know it’s very high praise – so I like that standard.
You could use salmon steaks – they’re the same here – cross cut.
I used a piece of the fillet – so the whole side cut into individual portions – we just abbreviate it to fillets here – glad you didn’t use 2 wholie sides of salmon – they would be a lot of fish!
Jx
I emailed you and asked if greek yoghurt would work in place of sour cream and you said yes. Thank you for being so interactive! Just the yoghurt ginger and basil makes an amazing dressing, and I will definitely be trying it on other things.! I made dinner with chicken and stir fried vegetables. I love the fact that your recipes are so simple, but delicious, and all the different options you suggest. I have lots of eggplant in the garden so definitely going to try the eggplant recipe this week.
Yay! I recruited my youngest, Zsa Zsa, to help make meals!! (Its the three of us here, as Charles returned to live with us a year ago. Its been Zsa Zsa and me (really) for 12 years!!)
“We” decided on tilapia, pistachios, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. She decided (I think she’s testing me when I said there are alternate ingredients and variations) to use plain sour cream and we can sprinkle in our own (ground) ginger, if we want it. Charles claims he doesn’t like ginger but he hasn’t had it in a while.. I suggested we give him a taste test. But this is great!! (Help in the kitchen.)
I have a question. ZsaZsa mixed together the pistachios and parsley then added the lemon juice. At that point, I wondered if it makes any difference to add the olive oil first then the lemon. I had learned (somewhere in my decades) to oil a salad first then add the vinegar. So she said she was going for the opposite effect (quick-witted.) She wanted the lemon to soak in more than the oil. What’s your view?
I’m writing this as she came in to tell me the fish broke up a bit so we’ll have to take chunks. lol I’m not usually this wordy because I’m usually so busy doing everything around here!! So. I’ve got her on board!
OK! We all just ate. Z was so proud of the results!! Even Charles decided he liked ginger mixed in the sour cream. (See?) Mmmmm, I cannot wait to do this alot!
Oh Kris!
I just LOVED reading this.
And so so happy you’ve got Zsa Zsa (such a cool name) on board!
To answer your question, you’re right adding the lemon first will make the parsley wilt more (I’ve also read that it will cause browning but I haven’t ever experienced that and can;t think why that would be the case).
I’m with Zsa Zsa in that’s what you want for this salsa (as opposed to a salad when you want the leaves to be crisp).
But it won’t make a huge huge difference either way.
So fun!
Jx
And LOVED that you kept the ginger separate – this is brilliant!
Fresh ginger is quite different to dried – might be worth trying if Charles likes dried 😉