Baked Salmon with Lemon and Leeks

This wonderfully simple and delicious dish is the perfect healthy meal to feed the family. It’s ready in under 30 minutes, tastes great, and the best part of all is you only need one pan to make it in! The flavors in this Baked Salmon with Lemon and Leeks are bright and vibrant, with the sharp Lemon flavor pairing perfectly with the creamy Leeks and fatty Salmon. The simplicity of this dish makes it the perfect midweek meal for a busy family

Inspiration for this Recipe

This recipe was inspired by a similar one provided by the legendary Food & Wine magazine (LINK). We made a few tweaks to their recipe along the way, as we found their version ended up having quite a bitter flavor. One thing you need to watch when using whole Lemon slices, which is what this recipe asks for

How to make Baked Salmon with Lemon and Leeks

This is a very simple dish to make, and all it requires is one large oven-safe pot. We used a deep sided Stainless-Steel Pot which worked wonders, but you can also use a Cast Iron Pan (which are always a good choice for most cooking needs)

The most difficult part of this dish, in fact, has nothing to do with the food itself, but moreover preparing the parchment paper that covers the dish as it goes into the Oven. The paper needs to be folded into a circle with a hole in the middle to allow Steam to escape from the pan as it roasts in the oven

This technique is known as a ‘Cartouche’ and it’s a very simple process of folding and cutting parchment paper. It’s so much easier to watch a simple video on how to do it than explain in writing, so here’s a simple video to learn how to make one

Next step is to prepare the ingredients for the dish

The star of the show is the Salmon. You can use 3 or 4 pieces of Salmon for this dish. Really just how many pieces will comfortably fit into your pot. We ended up using 3 large Salmon Filets, which took about 7 – 8 minutes to roast in the Oven

If you are using smaller sized pieces of Salmon you can add 4 pieces to the pan, and they’ll take 5 – 6 minutes to Roast. You want to ensure the Salmon doesn’t have its skin on. Either purchase skinless Salmon or remove the Skin. If you need to remove the Salmon Skin, here’s a simple video on how to do it

Crank the Oven to 500F as you begin to cook the Baked Salmon with Lemon and Leeks on the stovetop

The dish is roasted for between 5 – 8 minutes (depending on the size of your Salmon filets) in the Oven. The rest of the time, the cooking is done on the stovetop. Begin by melting Butter and Olive Oil in a pan, then adding the Lemon slices. Cook them until they begin to bubble, then in goes the Leeks

Cook the Leeks for about 5 minutes until they are tender and turn into that luxuriously creamy texture. At this point add the Thyme and place your seasoned Salmon Filets on top. Pour in some White Wine and bring it to a simmer

The Cartouche is then placed over the top of the pan (covering everything) as the pan is then transferred to the hot oven where the Salmon will cook through completely

Once your Salmon is cooked, remove everything from the oven and place it back on the stovetop. The Salmon is removed at this point, but the dish continues to be cooked for a further 5 minutes as the Cherry Tomatoes are added

Taste everything for seasoning before returning the Salmon to the dish. You’ll likely want to add a little bit more Salt and Pepper at this point. If the taste is coming out a little bitter (due to the whole Lemon slices) try mellowing it out with a bit more Butter and even some Sugar

Serving

I love a one pot dinner such as this amazing Baked Salmon with Lemon and Leeks, mainly because of how easy it is to not only cook but serve! You can simply place the whole pot in the middle of the table and allow everyone to plate their own dishes. Just be wary that the pot will still be hot, so tell everyone to plate with caution!

This dish will easily serve 4 people, but I would recommend serving it alongside some starch or a fresh Salad to round out the meal. Rice is a great choice, and it can cook away simultaneously on the stovetop as you prepare this dish

Baked Salmon with Lemon and Leeks Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 Large Salmon Filets, skin off
• 1 tsp. Salt
• ¾ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 6 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 1 Lemon, finely sliced
• 2 Leeks, finely sliced
• 8 Sprigs of Thyme
• 1 cup of White Wine
• 1 cup of Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
  
  

Equipment needed: Oven Safe Pan and Parchment Paper

Instructions

1. Make a cartouche using parchment paper (instruction video here) and pre-heat your oven to 500F. Season the Salmon filets with Salt and Pepper
2. Place the Oil and 2 tbsp. of Butter in a large oven-safe pan over medium high heat. Once melted, add the Lemon and cook until it begins to bubble
3. Add Leeks and stir through well until they are cooked and tender (about 4 – 5 minutes). Add Thyme then place the Salmon pieces on top, slightly nestling them into the Leeks. Pour in the Wine then bring to a Simmer
4. Place the Cartouche over the top of the pan and then transfer to the oven. Roast for 8 minutes until the Salmon is pink and cooked through
5. Remove from oven and set the Salmon aside. Place the pan back on the stove over medium heat, adding Cherry Tomatoes and the remaining Butter. Cook while stirring until the Tomatoes are cooked (about 5 minute)
6. Add a pinch of Salt and taste for seasoning, adding more Salt or Lemon Juice if required. Return the Salmon to the pan and serve family style
   
   

Recipe Notes

• If your Lemons have quite a bit of pith on them (the white part underneath the skin), they may come out bitter, so just be cautious. You can add more Butter, or even some Sugar to help balance out the bitterness
• A Cast Iron or Stainless-Steel pan will work best for this recipe
• Serve the dish with a side of Rice or Fresh Salad to round out the meal
  
  

This amazing One Pot Baked Salmon with Lemon and Leeks recipe is the perfect choice for a hearty and healthy family dinner. It’s easy to prepare with minimal clean-up required, making for the perfect midweek meal

For more amazing one pot dinners such as this one, check out these other great recipes:

• Crispy Chicken with Creamy Pan Sauce
• Deep Pan Pepperoni Pizza
• Cast Iron Tarragon Chicken
• Chicken Yaki Udon Noodles
  
  

Happy Cooking!