Baked Salmon with Cucumber Dill Yogurt Sauce

Fish is one thing I love cooking up, and there’s so many different ways I like to make it.  I especially love salmon and halibut.  After spending two summers in Alaska catching and cooking up fish, I kind of got spoiled on the wild and freshly caught King, Silver, and Sockeye Salmon, and Halibut.  After living there even for a short period, you kind of become a ‘fish snob’ and get picky on the type of fish you eat.  The taste, texture, and color of farmed fish vs. wild fish is very noticeable, and wild just reigns supreme!

I just recently found some wild Copper River Sockeye Salmon and made this dish, served along with a salad, sauteed asparagus, and some of my homemade bread.  My husband and I loved it.

While eating he was saying, ‘I’m in heaven right now”, “I love you, I love your cooking”, and I even heard him say between bites, “You’re like a little miracle worker with food”.  So, since those kind of rave reviews came out of this salmon dish, I thought it’s definitely note-worthy and share-worthy.  Here is what I did…

::Recipe:: Baked Salmon with Cucumber Dill Yogurt Sauce

Make sauce:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. sour cream
1/3 c. plain yogurt
1 small or 1/2 large cucumber, peeled and chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
fresh dill, a big pinch for sauce and 2 T. chopped for garnish
fresh parsley, a big pinch for sauce and 2 T. chopped for garnish
s+p

Set all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Pour into bowl and refrigerate.

Bake Salmon:
1 lb. wild Salmon (preferably King, Silver, or Sockeye)
1 lemon, sliced

Skin the salmon, trim off fat, de-bone if needed, and cut into about 4 (~4-5 oz) fillets.  Set on a baking sheet lined with foil, season with salt and pepper, and lay 2 slices of lemon on each fillet.  Bake at 400 deg F for about 17-18 min.

Once removed from oven, discard lemon slices.  Dish up the salmon, top with the cool cucumber yogurt sauce, sprinkle on fresh herbs, and enjoy!

***

I really like the warm baked salmon with the cool refreshing sauce, but I’ve also made this with the sauce poured over the fillets and baked in with it (can leave off lemon slices).  It’s great that way too.  Either way, you have a simple, healthy, and SO delicious dinner that will leave you feeling great!

Oh and while I’m reminiscing back to my Alaska summers, here’s me with my 35 lb. King Salmon.  Oh how I can’t wait to go back there..

Cheers!  …And if you are inclined to make this dish, let me know how you like it!

🙂