Salmon With Agrodolce Blueberries

By Melissa Clark

Salmon With Agrodolce Blueberries
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(629)
Comments
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Here, I paired fillets with a seasonal treat: fresh local blueberries.

The berries would have been cloying with the fish by themselves, so I simmered them with white wine and vinegar, creating a sweet-and-sour sauce inspired by Italian agrodolce.

The bracing blueberry agrodolce would have worked wonderfully on other fish, especially oily ones like mackerel and swordfish. I could also see spooning it over boneless chicken thighs before roasting, or pairing it with meaty pork tenderloin or chops that have just come off the grill in all their smoky glory.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 6(8-ounce) fillets wild king salmon
  • Sea salt, as needed
  • Vegetable oil for baking sheet
  • 2shallots, peeled and very thinly sliced
  • 1and a half cups white wine
  • 2tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 4springs fresh thyme
  • 2cinnamon sticks, broken in half
  • 1and a third cups blueberries
  • 4tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2tablespoons honey
  • Black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

819 calories; 49 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 71 grams protein; 832 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

    Run your fingers over the salmon flesh and pull out any pinbones. Season fish generously with salt and let rest at room temperature while you prepare the sauce.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large baking sheet.

  3. Step 3

    In a medium saucepan over low heat, simmer together shallots, wine, vinegar, thyme, cinnamon and a pinch of salt until most of the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Toss in blueberries, butter and honey; cook until berries soften and turn the sauce pink, 2 to 4 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Place salmon on baking sheet. Spoon berry mixture over salmon and season with pepper. Bake until salmon is cooked to desired doneness, 8 to 10 minutes for medium-rare.

Ratings

5 out of 5
629 user ratings
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Comments

Karen L Davis

Wonderful! Would probably be even better with local berries in the summer, but worked fine with imported fresh berries in winter, too. Among the sides I used was Marcella Hazan's "fettuccine al gorgonzola" (using creamy gorgonzola cheese) -- an excellent pairing.

Cary

The key to this is in the timing. Reduce the vinegar to almost nothing, and don't add the butter until you are ready to fire the salmon. If you add it too early, the sauce will break, producing some of the less happy results that others have reported. Once the sauce is creamy, pour it over the fish and get it in the oven. If the blueberries seem undercooked in the sauce, don't worry, they will finish in the oven. Our guests were completely wowed by this dish.

Limes

Love this recipe. Easy and delicious. I saved some of the blueberry sauce for toast with ricotta.

aschneir

Made this for friends and it was delicious and easy. Other tips were correct in allowing more time for reduction but the rest was perfect.

Shane Tanner

Amazing! Made the person in my house who is unsure of fish RAVE about it. Perfect flavors and done to perfection. I paired it with garlic parmesan noodles with chopped up golden zucchini from the garden. This is going on the "make to impress" list!

MOM

This was otherwordly! I decided to add half the berries towards tail end of the shallots and wine reducing, and then mix in the other half as directed. I found this gave me a lusciously thick sauce that caramelized in the oven. Thank you so much for this recipe! I have also used the agrodolce with pork chops. Not as pretty but very tasty. Agree about putting the butter in at the end. Have also made it with blackberries. Delicious and beautiful every time. Agrodolce is my new go-to as a sauce for

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