Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon

The topping on this Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon is a great way to add flavor and also make sure roast salmon doesn’t dry out in the oven. It's flavored with garlic, thyme, smoked sea salt flakes, aleppo pepper and just a sprinkle of nutmeg. 

If you’ve seen my recipe for pineapple buns, you are already familiar with what craquelin pastry is, although to be fair, I never called it that. That thin topping I added to the buns - the one that baked up crunchy and shiny - is a craquelin. Indeed typically craquelin pastry is sweet. And it’s usually baked on a bread or pastry of some kind. 

The word itself is French, naturalment, and translates to “cracker.” I presume the topping was so named because it is crunchy like a cracker when baked, although I must warn you that that does not hold true when you bake it on top of fish.  It gets a little crunchy but certainly not cracker crisp!

Since craquelin pastry is usually sweet I was intrigued when I saw the recipe for savory craquelin in delicious. magazine and couldn’t wait to try it. Was it good? Suffice to say, I'll be making this again! The topping was flavorful and delightful and the salmon below was tasty and cooked to perfection.

Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon

As mentioned above, this recipe was adapted from one in the UK magazine delicious. March 2021 issue but you can also find it online. You can mix the craquelin by hand but it’s much easier to get it nice and smooth with an electric mixer and I promise you want it nice and smooth. 

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets, about 1.5 lbs or 800g altogether, at room temperature

Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving

For the craquelin pastry topping:

2 slightly rounded tablespoons unsalted butter (about 30g), at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon demerara sugar

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes (I used Maldon.)

Sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pul biber (aleppo pepper) or substitute 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra to serve, if you like

1 fat clove garlic, crushed and minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked off and chopped, plus extra sprigs to serve

3 tablespoons plain flour

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C and prepare your baking pan by lining it with baking parchment.

Use electric beaters to make the craquelin pastry topping by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the salt, nutmeg, pul biber, garlic, thyme and flour.

Beat again until it’s thoroughly combined and spreadable.

Put the salmon on the lined baking pan, skin-side down. Dry the tops thoroughly with a paper towel. If the fish is wet, it’s a challenge to get the craquelin to stick and spread. 

Divide the craquelin dough between the salmon fillets. Spread each over the top of the fish using the back of a spoon. 

Pop the pan in your preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Finish it off under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until the top is golden and the fish is just cooked through.

Sprinkle the fillets with the lemon juice, then add an extra sprig of thyme to each and a pinch more aleppo pepper or cayenne, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It's the second Friday of the month so that means it's time for my Fish Friday Foodie friends to share recipes with you. Our theme today is Salmon Chanted Evening 🤣   but feel free to make these for lunch as well! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime for the fun theme name and all her behind the scenes work! 

• Chili Glazed Salmon from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Creamy Garlic Butter Salmon from Making Miracles
• Salmon Burgers With Cocktail Sauce from Sneha’s Recipe
• Salmon with Lemon Caper Butter from Palatable Pastime
• Savory Craquelin Roast Salmon from Food Lust People Love
• Smoked Salmon Pasta from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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