Salmon With Crushed Blackberries and Seaweed

By Sean Sherman

Salmon With Crushed Blackberries and Seaweed
Marcus Nilsson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(320)
Comments
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A traditional staple on the Pacific Northwest coast, salmon is considered a sacred food. This dish is often slow-roasted on cedar or redwood spikes near an open fire, giving the fish a beautiful smoky flavor. In the kitchen, searing the salmon in a skillet allows the true flavor of wild-caught fish to shine through. Seaweed harvesting goes back countless generations, and so the salty seaweed is a great accompaniment here, along with the sweet local blackberries, a combination that is natural for the Muckleshoot and other tribes of the region.

Featured in: Sean Sherman’s 10 Essential Native American Recipes

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2cups fresh blackberries
  • Coarse sea salt
  • 4(5- to 6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets, preferably wild-caught sockeye salmon
  • 3tablespoons sunflower oil, plus more as needed
  • 2 to 3tablespoons dried wakame seaweed
  • Fresh chive stems, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

449 calories; 32 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 33 grams protein; 578 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, crush half the blackberries using the back of a fork. Add the remaining whole blackberries, stir to coat and season to taste with salt; set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Pat salmon fillets dry with a paper towel. Season with salt on both sides.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a large, heavy sauté pan or cast-iron skillet over high. When the pan is hot, add 3 tablespoons oil and carefully swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil begins to shimmer, working in batches if necessary, place the fillets in the pan, flesh-side down, and sear until the salmon picks up some color and releases easily from the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the fish, reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until cooked through, about 2 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the salmon.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the fillets from the pan to a warm plate and tent with foil until all fillets are cooked, making sure to get any of the salmon skin that may stick to the pan. (If you’re cooking your fillets in multiple batches, you’ll want to add 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil to the skillet before pan-searing the second batch.)

  5. Step 5

    Divide the salmon among plates, serving it skin-side up. Top with the blackberries, then garnish each plate with the seaweed and a few chive stems.

Ratings

4 out of 5
320 user ratings
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Comments

Aidan

Is the seaweed dry, like nori - possibly the shredded nori used on top of soups and stews? The wakame I use needs to be rehydrated and is used in salads and soups. (I am never without it in the pantry - it is delicious.) But I don’t see any prep of the seaweed, it appears to be more of a garnish.

Eric Kessler

I work with a native Quinault elder on Washington's Olympic Peninsula and she always laughs when she hears cedar smoked salmon. The wood most often used to smoke and cook salmon out here in the NW is red alder. It leaves a much softer less oily flavor.

Andi

Black berries are all wrong. They are certainly plentiful in the PNW, but mostly they are nasty nasty weeds, no matter what poetics are spread about them by timber company employees. A native version of this might be Salal berries (traditional with dried or smoked salmon) or maybe Salmon berries, which are a native Ribes, a raspberry type fruit of a golden/blush color. Another perfectly native berry that's good with salmon is blue berry. Can't beat that. We have options here.

anthrokat

This is my absolute favorite recipe and one I have made more than any other! It is so quick, easy, delicious, healthy, and a beautiful presentation. It is easily adaptable with different types of seaweed, berries, and salmon. I heat and smash the berries. The berries can be elevated with a tablespoon or two of red wine and / or high quality balsamic vinegar. Great with sesame seeds added on top of the seaweed, then chives on top. Highly recommend!

Barbara Wilde

Just some botanical nit-picking here from a cranky old lifelong gardener. That would be chive leaves-or just simply chives. The only stems on the plant bear the flowers in late spring. These are always removed as they are stiff and tough and moreover, if left on the plant with the ripening seed heads, will cause the entire plant to go dormant until next spring.

Dr. Tucker

Instead of seaweeed, i served with simple green salad dressed with an anchovy vinagrette and coconut rice. Terrific

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