Salmon with Dill Sauce and Barley Salad

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Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring, and this dish is a shining example of that. The vibrant colors and amazing flavors from this Salmon with Dill Sauce dish are so exciting! You’ll completely forget how nutritious this dish is for you as you tuck into the rich, powerful flavors that work in total harmony with each other in this dish

The classic pairing of Salmon with Dill Sauce is so popular, and with good reason. The bright flavor of Dill is accentuated in this sauce by combining it with Greek Yoghurt and Lemon Juice (plus the Zest!). The Sauce has a real zesty quality that cuts through the oiliness of the Fish. It’s no wonder this is such a classic pairing. To finish the dish, we lay the Salmon atop a bed of the most delicious Barley Salad which is filled with all kinds of delicious Vegetables

How to make Salmon with Dill Sauce

The star of this dish is, of course, Salmon. Perfectly cooked crispy skinned Salmon is easy to achieve, and you don’t need any fancy equipment to do it. Just a frying pan and a little bit of patience is all that is required

The secret to getting crispy skin Salmon is to remove as much moisture as possible from the skin before it gets cooked. This is the same trick to achieving crispy skin on any kind of protein, Pork, Chicken, Duck etc.

The methods for removing moisture from fish is a little different from other proteins, however. Salmon is naturally a very oily fish, which you will notice when you bite into that wonderful pink flesh and taste the juicy, oily flavors. It’s wonderful to enjoy, but it is an enemy of crispiness!

Scrape the gunk off the skin will guarantee crispy perfection

There is a layer of oily ‘gunk’ that sits on the surface of all Salmon skin. Some pieces of Salmon have more of it than others, but they will all contain some level of it. While it’s perfectly ok to cook, it is what prevents the skin from crisping up. So, you want to remove as much of this gunk as you can without damaging the actual skin before it gets cooked

The best way to do so is to use the back of a knife, or a blunt knife like a Butter knife. Carefully scrape the knife along the surface of the skin a few times. You’ll see the gunk start to remove itself from the skin and either pool at the end of the fish or stick to your knife. Remove as much of this as you can with a paper towel and repeat the process until it’s gone

Then, hit the Salmon with a bit of Salt and leave it for about 10 minutes before cooking. The Salt will remove any excess moisture that is embedded in the skin. After 10 minutes it’ll be ready to pan sear. Simply sear the Salmon skin-side down for 5 minutes then flip over. At this point the skin will be beautifully crispy. Just finish the Salmon off on the other side then it’s ready to eat!

The accompanying Dill Sauce is so easy to make

I love a good sauce that doesn’t require any kind of ‘reduction’ or ‘emulsification’. This sauce is the embodiment of simplicity. All you need to do is mix a bunch of ingredients together and it’s done! The foundation of this sauce is Yoghurt and Dill, with the addition of Lemon Juice and Olive Oil which help to not only balance out the flavor, but give the sauce it’s beautiful, creamy texture

The vibrancy of this Dill Sauce pairs perfectly with the delicious piece of perfectly cooked Salmon

The final component is this delicious Barley Salad with Roast Vegetables

Creating this salad was a real eye opener for me. Barley is such a slept-on ingredient and is so great in salads. In the same family as Couscous and Farro, Barley is a delicious grain that is packed full of nutrients. It’s a fantastic ingredient to add body to Salads

By itself the Barley doesn’t have a load of flavor. However, once it is cooked try adding a little bit of Butter and Salt and taste the difference. The Barley soaks up those flavors and tastes amazing

It’s such an easy ingredient to prepare too. Simply add it to a saucepan along with 3x it’s volume of water (eg: 1 cup of Barley would need 3 cups of Water). Bring to a boil, simmer, and then cook for 30 – 35 minutes and it’s done

You can wash the Barley beforehand to give it a good clean, which is typically a good idea. If not, that’s ok too – you will likely need to skim some of the foamy gunk that will float to the surface of the water while it’s cooking

This wonderful Barley Salad can be finished with crumbly Feta Cheese. Totally optional, but delicious!

Add some Mediterranean flair to finish the dish

Sure, you could serve the Barley by itself, but it is a little bit boring. For our Salmon with Dill Sauce recipe, we’re adding a bunch of beautiful Mediterranean vegetables to the Barley. For the absolute best flavor, roast the Vegetables in the oven with a little bit of Olive Oil and Salt until the caramelize

Let the vegetables cool and then cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the Veggies to the cooked Barley and you’re all done! For this dish we’re using Bell Peppers, which will require the skin to be removed along with its core and seeds before cutting

If you want to dive deeper into the specifics of both the Dill Sauce and Barley Salad, we’ve dedicated entire articles to those recipes. You can find them here:

• Dill Sauce Recipe
• Barley Salad with Mediterranean Vegetables
  
  

Salmon with Dill Sauce and Barley Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 large Salmon Filets, skin on
• ½ tsp. Salt
• ½ tsp. Vegetable Oil
  
  

Dill Sauce Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. Greek Yoghurt
• 1 tsp. fresh Dill, finely chopped
• 2 tsp. Lemon Juice
• ½ tsp. Lemon Zest
• ½ tsp. Olive Oil
• ½ Garlic Clove, finely diced
• Pinch of Salt
  
  

Barley Salad Ingredients

• ½ cup of Pearl Barley
• 1 ½ cups of Water
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Carrot, peeled and quartered
• 2 Celery Stalks, halved
• 1 Onion, cut into quarters
• 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 tsp. Unsalted Butter
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

Barley Salad Instructions

1. Place the Carrot, Celery, Onion, and Bell Pepper onto a large sheet pan and drizzle with Olive Oil and about ½ tsp. of Salt. Roast in the Oven for 1 hour, turning once
2. Remove Vegetables from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove skin, core, and seeds from Bell Pepper. Chop all vegetables into bite sized pieces and set aside
3. While the Vegetables are roasting, combine Pearl Barley and Water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes until cooked, stirring and skimming occasionally
4. Add Butter and ½ tsp. of Salt to the cooked Barley and mix well. When ready to serve, add the chopped vegetables to the Barley and re-heat
   
   

Dill Sauce Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix well
2. Check for seasoning and flavor, adjusting if necessary
   
   

Cooking the Salmon and Plating the dish

1. Carefully scrape off the excess gunk from the skin of the Salmon with the back of a knife. Do this several times until clean, then Salt the skin
2. Add Vegetable Oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, place the Salmon skin side down and cook for 5 minutes. Turn, and cook for a further 3 – 4 minutes until cooked throughout
3. Add a generous amount of the Barley Vegetable mixture to a plate. Top with a Salmon Filet and serve with the Dill Sauce on the side
   
   

Recipe Notes

• For even more flavor in your Barley, try cooking it with Vegetable Broth (LINK), instead of water
• You can make more Barley; just ensure you use 3x the water content to Barley ratio. It will keep for a few days if refrigerated
  
  

Those are all the steps needed to make this wonderful Salmon with Dill Sauce and Barley Salad dish. It’s a simple meal to make, tastes amazing, and is so healthy for you. We highly recommend giving this dish a try and guarantee you it’ll make its way onto regular rotation in your household

For more healthy meals such as this one, try some of these favorites of ours:

• Beef and Barley Soup with Vegetables
• Greek Pasta Salad
• Our Light and Healthy Meals List
• Greek Salad with Chicken
  
  

Happy Cooking!