How was the weekend?  It’s officially spring, friends..congratulations..you’ve made it!  I’m feeling awfully grateful that ‘technical’ winter is behind us…now if we could just get these temps (and random bouts of snow) out of the equation.

So with spring comes lighter food, which I am feeling so ready for.  You know I’m all about soups, stews and gratins but there comes a point in time when a change of food is in order…and around here our changes in food tend to come and go with the seasons.

This Maple Mustard Pan-Roasted Salmon is a sure thing for this time of year.  It’s so much lighter than our typical “winter” fare but theres still a comfort, warming factor to it.  And best of all…it is about the easiest thing in the world to do.

Pan roasting is one of my favorite methods for cooking meats, poultry  and fish, in this case, and I just can’t seem to figure out why its not talked about more in cookbooks and utilized more with us homecooks.  It’s one the most time-saving, flavor-boosting tricks I use and if you haven’t tried it already, one shot at it and you’ll be hooked; I guarantee that, or your money back 😉

It starts, for this recipe, with a simple sear of the salmon on top of the stove in a very hot, oven safe pan (cast-iron is always my go-to but any oven safe pan will work).  The sear gives you the most light, just-crisp-enough layer.  After that quick sear you flip the fish over, drizzle the tops of the salmon with a 3-ingredient sauce and pop it into the oven for just a couple of minutes to finish cooking and seal in all of that yummy moisture.  And THATS IT!

It is so yummy…and the extra sauce that runs off of the salmon will get sticky and gooey and chewy and caramelized in the pan…so don’t let that go to waste.  It’s sweet and savory to the max.

If you’ve got 10 minutes (yes, literally 10 minutes!), you’ve got this delicious, restaurant-quality dish on your table with absolutely no fuss…my kind of cooking!

Maple-Mustard Pan Roasted Salmon

notes: I prefer clarified butter for this recipe…you can find it in most markets already clarified.  If you don’t have access to clarified butter any high heat cooking oil such as sunflower, canola, peanut will work just fine.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Clarified Butter or High Heat Cooking Oil

4 Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon Filets (4-5 Ounce Filets are what I use)

Kosher Salt + Black Pepper

3 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1 Garlic Clove

Directions

Add the maple syrup, dijon and garlic to a small bowl and whisk to combine; set aside.

Preheat oven to 475 and place an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat.  Pat the salmon dry and season with salt + black pepper.  Add the butter or oil to the pan and swirl it around the pan to evenly coat the bottom.   Add the salmon, skin side up, to the pan and sear for 1 minute or until browned.  Flip the salmon over, drizzle the maple/dijon mixture over the tops of the salmon filets, spread the sauce over the fish with the back of a spoon and place the pan in the oven.  Roast for 3-4 minutes for medium/medium well cooked fish or until desired doneness.  Serves 4