Last Updated on July 25, 2024
A healthy and low-calorie recipe for spicy salmon that will have your mouth watering
Both delicious and healthy, Salmon is one of my favourite fish. I love pan frying it and cooking it en papillote, but for a change, I make a spicy salmon recipe that I can bake in the air fryer. This recipe uses a glaze made with yoghurt and spices to help stop the salmon from drying out when it is baked without needing to wrap it in foil.
This is a very simple recipe – you only need 5 ingredients, all of which you will probably have at home.
You’ll need a tablespoon of Greek yoghurt – unflavoured and unsweetened. I make my own yoghurt, but if you are buying yours I’d recommend a brand like FAGE. You don’t need to use full-fat yoghurt because you’ll be adding olive oil to the mix.
It’s worth using the best olive oil that you have. I’ve used an extra virgin olive oil from Belazu – the main thing to look for is ‘cold-pressed’ on the label.
Za’atar is a traditional Middle Eastern spice blend that typically includes dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, and sometimes sumac and toasted sesame seeds. I like Waitrose’s own brand and I also buy MariamPantry from Amazon because I use so much of this!
I find that chilli flakes are the easiest way to add controllable heat. I buy Waitrose’s own brand for consistency because different brands can vary a lot. Please feel free to adjust the amount you use to suit your palate.
One lemon between two portions of salmon is perfect. You’ll be baking a couple of slices with the fish and using a little of the juice in the yoghurt mixture. Ideally, buy unwaxed lemons. If you have bought waxed ones, then plunge them into a bowl of hot water for a few minutes then wipe well, to remove the wax glaze that has been added.
Along with a little salt and pepper that’s all you’ll need for this recipe. I have served mine with a handful of baby potatoes, oiled and baked alongside the fish and with a good portion of fresh greens from the garden.
Well-produced salmon is highly nutritious, offering a wealth of health benefits. It is known as a fatty fish, but that simply means that it’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), essential for heart health, reducing inflammation, and supporting brain function. It’s an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and gets its distinctive pink colour from astaxanthin, an antioxidant that has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. I try to eat two portions of ‘fatty fish’ a week and salmon fillets are a particular favourite. I usually buy mine from the local Farmer’s Market where Potter Street Fishmongers sell Loch Duart Salmon. While it is farmed salmon, it’s produced ethically and on a small scale. Of course, I’d love to live on wild salmon but this is a good frugal alternative.
Make sure that you buy fillets that are roughly the same size and thickness or you may struggle with the timing.
This isn’t a dish I would recommend freezing. Because there’s lemon juice in the yoghurt glaze, the fish will ‘cure’ and the texture change. But, it’s so quick to make that I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that. You can make it with frozen salmon fillets, but I’d recommend thawing them before cooking to ensure that the centre of the fish is properly cooked.
Keen to get started? All you need to do is mix the yoghurt with the spices, oil and a little lemon juice and then coat the fish with the mixture (I used a pastry brush). Don’t apply too thick a coating or you won’t get the glorious golden crust.
Then bake it in your air fryer or oven – I set mine onto the bake function and cook at 180c for 15 minutes, then at 190c for the last 10 minutes, but you may need to adjust the temperature depending on the model of the air fryer you are using.
I ate mine sitting in the garden this evening and it was utterly delicious. It isn’t often that something so healthy is so mouthwatering and delectable. Do try this yourself – you won’t be disappointed.
Here’s a printable version of the recipe for you
Spicy Salmon Fillet Recipe
Ingredients
- 260 grams Salmon Fillet two fillets of approximately 130g
- 1 tablespoon Greek Yoghurt
- 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil plus a little to oil the pan
- 2 teaspoons Za'atar
- 1/2 teaspoon Chilli Flakes Adjust to taste
- 1 Lemon Unwaxed or cleaned carefully
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the yoghurt, oil, za'atar and chilli flakes
- Cut the lemon in half and cut two slices out and set to one side.
- Add about a teaspoon of lemon juice to the yoghurt mixture and stir well
- Season the salmon with salt and pepper
- Use a pastry brush to coat the salmon fillets on all exposed flesh (you do not need to coat the skin
- Put the fillets onto an oiled skillet or baking tray that fits in your air fryer, or directly onto the grill
- Place the lemon slices alongside
- Bake at 180C for 15 minutes, then raise the temperature to 190C and continue to bake until the glaze is nicely golden
- Serve each fillet with a slice of lemon
Delicioius
I love the simplicity of this recipe, and how quickly it all comes together for an effortless dinner. Not to mention, we love zaatar, and it works great with salmon!
Quick, easy and flavorful salmon recipe, I made this in the air fryer and it came out flawlessly. We loved it, thank you!
This spicy salmon was just what we’d be craving! Perfectly flaky and could not have been more simple to make.
Loved the yogurt and Za’attar flavor in this dish. So good.
We make salmon all the time but always look for new seasoning ideas to try out. Thanks!