Baked Salmon With Ginger-Rhubarb Sauce Recipe

Rhubarb is an ingredient that is most often found in sweet dishes, and with good reason. Its tart flavor isn't particularly palatable unless paired with sugar, making it an ideal ingredient for use in baked goods such as pies and cakes where added sugar is just about guaranteed. That said, don't let such a preconception keep you from enjoying rhubarb with more savory-forward dishes, like this baked salmon recipe.

This baked salmon with ginger-rhubarb sauce recipe, created by Tasting Table recipe developer Jennine Rye, pairs rhubarb with oven baked salmon for a slightly unusual but nonetheless delicious dinner option. The rhubarb is stewed with ginger, cloves, and a bay leaf along with sugar and red wine vinegar to create a wonderfully sweet, tart, and spiced sauce, which makes for a balanced companion to the mild and buttery flavors of salmon. Quick and easy to rustle up, this recipe is a great option if you are looking for something a little different to do with your salmon fillets. Ready and on the table in under 30 minutes, this dish may present an unusual way to use rhubarb, but once you've tried it, you'll know just how great the ingredient can work in a savory context.

To begin this baked salmon with ginger-rhubarb sauce recipe, first you will need to gather the ingredients. You will need fresh rhubarb, granulated sugar, red wine vinegar, ginger, a bay leaf, cloves, salmon fillets, butter, and salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Add the chopped rhubarb, sugar, red wine vinegar, freshly grated ginger, bay leaf, cloves, 2 tablespoons water, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a small saucepan.

Heat the saucepan over a medium heat and allow the mixture to stew for 5 to 10 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft.

Stir the mixture well and set aside.

Line a baking dish with parchment paper.

Place the salmon fillets into the dish and top each with a chunk of butter and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Place the salmon fillets into the oven to bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until just cooked through.

Serve the salmon hot, topped off with a few spoonfuls of rhubarb sauce.

Biologically considered to be a vegetable, this tart celery-like ingredient can take some getting used to if you've never prepared it before. If you've seen rhubarb at the store or your local farmers market, you may well have noticed its color variation. Some stalks are a deep reddish hue, whilst others are pink or light green, and many are a mottled variation of those shades. You'd be forgiven for thinking that the color of rhubarb has an impact on its flavor, after all, a red pepper tastes much sweeter than a green pepper. However, this is not necessarily the case when it comes to rhubarb, its color is caused by its genetics and actually has nothing to do with its ripeness.

When purchasing rhubarb, you'll want to make sure to go for crisp stalks that have a shine to them. We also recommend reaching for the slender stalks, as these tend to be younger and more tender, instead of fibrous and woody. To prepare your rhubarb, cut off any attached leaves as these are toxic, and trim the bottoms. Most of the time it is unnecessary to peel rhubarb — simply give it a good wash and then use it as per the recipe instructions. However, depending on the variety and the season, the rhubarb available may be tougher and contain stringy ribs which can benefit from being removed with a peeler before cooking.

While baking salmon in the oven is a simple and convenient way to create this dish, there are other options available to you if you prefer, or would like to explore, different methods of cooking this popular variety of fish. If oven cooking is out for you, pan-frying is a good alternative. When done correctly, this method will give you an enviably crispy skin, adding more texture and flavor to the finished dish. To make sure the salmon is pan-fried to perfection, you will want to dry the skin before cooking the fillets skin-side down the entire time.

Another option you have when preparing this recipe is grilling your salmon, perfect for any time the barbecue is out. To get around the tricky issue of this flaky fish falling apart over the grill, simply make a foil packet for the salmon before placing it on the barbecue. This method will result in a wonderfully succulent cut of fish, as the foil locks a lot of the moisture into the salmon, cooking it to juicy perfection. Finally, why not make use of one of the most popular new kitchen do-it-all gadgets, and air fry your salmon fillets? This cooking method is super simple, and will give you wonderfully cooked salmon in no time.