Spice Broiled Salmon with Green Apple Salad – Recipe for broiled salmon with a sweet, golden spice crust topped with a crisp salad made with apples, cucumber and honey. Rosh Hashanah recipe.
Looking for a salmon recipe for a holiday meal? Look no further! This Spice Broiled Salmon with Green Apple Salad is so easy to make, even for a crowd. The Middle Eastern-inspired spice blend melts together with the brown sugar under the broiler, producing a gorgeous caramelized golden-brown crust. A crisp green apple and cucumber salad is served on top, giving the dish an unexpected freshness that goes really well with the spice crust. This recipe has some nice symbolism to it for Rosh Hashanah; the salad contains apples and honey, two traditional foods for the holiday. Likewise, the crust has a bit of brown sugar in it for sweetness. We eat sweet foods during Rosh Hashanah to signify our hope for a sweet new year. It also works for Passover, depending on your personal dietary restrictions (some Jews consider cumin kitniyot).
The majority of the prep time in this recipe comes from chopping up the green apple salad, which is spooned over the fillets after they are broiled. You can make the salad a few hours before serving; it’s best made the same day, but can be made a day ahead if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of crispness. The lemon juice will keep the apples from oxidizing and turning brown.
Here’s a quick tip that will maximize flavor– if you have a spice grinder, grind the coriander from whole seeds, as it will retain a lot more of its flavor than using pre-ground coriander. All spices taste better when ground fresh, however it’s particularly important with coriander if you can swing it. You can use a coffee grinder to grind your spices, just be sure to wash the grinder well before using (so you don’t get a coffee flavor on your salmon crust).
You don’t have to reserve this recipe for Rosh Hashanah. It’s great all year round, and easy enough to work into your weekly meal rotation. Enjoy!
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Spice Broiled Salmon with Green Apple Salad
Ingredients
Salmon
- 6 boneless skinless salmon fillets
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander (fresh ground with a spice or coffee grinder is best)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
- Cooking oil spray
Green Apple Salad
- 1 cup green apples, peeled and seeded, diced small
- 1 cup Persian cucumber, seeded, diced small
- 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh mint, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- Pinch kosher salt
NOTES
Instructions
To Make Green Apple Salad
- Place ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir to combine. This salad is best if made right before the salmon is cooked to preserve the crispness of the apples and cucumber; if you're not overly concerned with crispness, you can make this up to a day ahead and store in the refrigerator till ready to serve. The lemon juice will keep the apples from browning.
To Make Spice Broiled Salmon
- Preheat broiler to high. Combine sugar, salt and spices in a medium mixing bowl. Pat salmon filets dry and set aside. Fill the bottom of a baking dish with the spice rub. Dip top side of each salmon filet into the rub to coat with a thin, even layer of spices. Only one side should be coated.Line a baking sheet tray with foil and grease the foil with nonstick cooking oil spray. Place the filets on the foil-lined sheet tray, spiced side facing up. Spray the tops of the filets with a light layer of cooking oil spray.
- Broil on high about 6 inches below the broiler for 4-6 minutes, or to desired doneness. The tops of the filets should look slightly caramelized and glistening. Cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the filet; don't overcook or the salmon will become dry.Use a slotted spoon to top each piece of salmon with a scoop of the Green Apple Salad (the slotted spoon will keep excess liquid from soaking the top of the filet). Serve immediately.
Luna Regina says
Great combos. I never tried adding apple to salmon but this promises to be a hit.
Zara Mazhar-Elstub says
Hey Tori! I came across this recipe when I was in my first year at University — at the time I couldn’t cook at all and was looking for a recipe to make for my housemates. 10 years later, I love cooking and cook often — this is hands down my favourite recipe still! Everyone who tries this, loves it 🙂 so many family and friends have commented on how they would be very happy if they ordered this at an expensive restaurant! So simple but so effective and delicious. Thank you for sharing this!
Tori Avey says
So glad to hear this Zara! Thank you for writing. 🙂
Ruchama Burrell says
This looks like a perfect recipe for cooking salmon in our air fryer. I’m going to try it that way.
Mary says
Made the apple cucumber salad to go with terryaki salmon and wow was it great ! I didn’t make the slice salmon even tho I really want to, bc my husband doesn’t like food too spicy.
The salad is so easy and really turns the salmon up to eleven !! Lol! Fresh and crisp and great flavors. My husband loved it and proclaimed it was “ a hit”! Will def be making it again.
I served it over jasmine rice. We ate every piece of everything- anything that gets my fam to eat more fish is a big win!! Thank you, tori!!
Alicia says
I only made the salmon as I didn’t have apple or mint on hand. The spice rub was really easy to make and had a great carmelized flavor