Baked Salmon and Asparagus Risotto is fancy but not fussy. Easy enough to make for weeknight meals but also special enough for your weekend dinner parties. Perfectly baked salmon rest upon the ultimate creamy risotto bed and it's everything you every wanted and so much more!
I feel like I say this every week, but seriously y'all, baked salmon and asparagus risotto is SO GOOD!
I mean, I would hope so. I would never give you a bad recipe or something I am not excited about....but this one....YUMMMMM!!!
If you read my June Wine Down Wednesday post, then you read a little bit about my sisters bachelorette trip. On the last night we ate at Star's restaurant (um, hello, where are my Southern Charm fans at?!) and I had the salmon and risotto dish and knew I had to come home to recreate asap.
The creamy risotto and asparagus was the perfect bed for the incredible baked salmon to lay on top of. The salmon was a little crispy on the edges and perfectly flaky through the middle. I crushed it in about 2.5 seconds and promptly wanted another order.
Since we are big salmon for dinner fans and have 20-minute oven-baked dijon salmon on rotation often, I wanted to keep this simple and easy for a weeknight meal but still special enough to serve on a weekend dinner party.
Risotto takes a little patience, but honestly it is made out to be way harder than it really is. The pay off is 100! worth the couple extra minutes of attention and stirring.
Start by sautéing some onions in a little bit of olive oil and butter. I like the combo of both of these oils in this dish. You can just use one or the other if you prefer though.
I am just being a little #extra. 🙂
Sauté for 3-5 minute until soft and then add your chopped asparagus and the dry risotto. You want to toast up the risotto in the oil, onions and asparagus to really start deepening the flavors.
- Add ½ cup of chicken broth to the pan and begin to stir
- Stir until the risotto has soaked it all
- Then add another ½ cup of broth
- Keep repeating process until we get to 2 ½ cups total used
We add this a ½ a cup at a time so the risotto can slow soak up the liquid and flavors. You want this to be over medium to medium-low heat and stirring constantly.
Now when I say stirring constantly, I mean you can walk away and do some dishes, prep other things, respond back to a text, then come back and stir some more. It's a "loose constant" in my books. Don't tell the pro's but as long as you keep an eye on it and stir every minute or 2 for a bit then you'll be fine. Does that make sense?
I hope so lol
Once you have added all the broth, turn the heat to low. Add in your spices, a parmesan rind if you have one laying around and wait until your salmon is finished.
Serve the baked salmon on top of the warm, creamy risotto and sink into an eternal state of bliss. This baked salmon and asparagus risotto is fancy but not fussy. It is easily adaptable to making for more people if needed too.
If you make this dish, make sure to tag me on Insta so I can see all your yummy risotto goodness!
Happy Monday friends! 🙂
Recipe
Baked Salmon and Asparagus Risotto
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4
Description
Baked Salmon and Asparagus Risotto is fancy but not fussy. Easy enough to make for weeknight meals but also special enough for your weekend dinner parties. Perfectly baked salmon rest upon the ultimate creamy risotto bed and it's everything you every wanted and so much more!
Ingredients
- 1 pound Fresh Salmon (cut into 4 equal pieces)
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil + more for salmon
- ½ Yellow Onion
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- 1 Cup Risotto
- 2 ½ Cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Cup Asparagus
- Salt & Pepper
- Chives to Garnish
Instructions
For Salmon
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice the pound of salmon into 4 equal pieces and place on a baking tray that has been lined with foil.
- Brush olive oil on the tops and sides and sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Place in the oven and baked for 10-12 minutes (or until 140 degree on the inside).
For the Risotto
- In a large pan, place 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Turn on medium heat.
- Finely dice ½ yellow onion and add to the pan. Sauce for 3-5 minutes until soft.
- Add finely diced asparagus (see picture in post for reference), 2 cloves of garlic minced and 1 cup of dry risotto to the pan with the onions. Stir and sauté together for 3 - 5 minutes.
- Turn heat to medium to medium low heat and add ½ cup of chicken broth.
- Stir constantly as the risotto slowly soaks up the broth. Once it has, add another ½ cup of broth and repeat the following process.
- Repeat adding ½ cup of broth and sitting until absorbed until all 2 ½ cups have been used.
- Turn on low and add in salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
To Serve
- Spoon a portion of asparagus risotto onto a plate, add a piece of salmon and garnish with fresh chives and cracked black pepper.
- Enjoy immediately!
Notes
- If you keep parmesan rinds in your fridge, add one to the risotto as it is in the broth phase. It adds a nice addition of flavor - but not necessary if you don't already have on hand.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Seafood
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece of salmon and risotto
- Calories: 382
- Sugar: 1.8 g
- Sodium: 437.2 mg
- Fat: 11.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.2 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 31.4 g
- Cholesterol: 65.6 mg
