By Melissa Clark
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- 4(307)
- Notes
- Read community notes
In this speedy, rosy weeknight dinner, a tart ginger-rhubarb sauce lends brightness to rich, buttery roasted salmon fillets. It’s used in two ways here. First, it’s spooned over the fillets before roasting, allowing the bits of rhubarb to singe and caramelize in the oven’s high heat. Then, more sauce is served alongside for a fresher, zippier bite. To balance the rhubarb’s astringency, a few tablespoons of sugar are stirred into the sauce, but feel free to adjust the amount to taste. It should strike a balance between tangy and sweet. For the pinkest, prettiest sauce, seek out the reddest rhubarb stalks you can find.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 3scallions, thinly sliced
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar, more to taste
- 1tablespoon rice vinegar, more for serving
- ½teaspoon grated fresh ginger, more to taste
- Salt
- 6ounces rhubarb, trimmed and sliced 1-inch-thick (1⅓ cups)
- 4(6- to 8-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- Red-pepper flakes, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
529 calories; 35 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 41 grams protein; 631 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, if you like, for easier cleanup.
Step
2
Set aside about 2 tablespoons of the scallion greens for serving. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining scallions, sugar, vinegar, ginger and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
Step
3
Add the rhubarb. Cover pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and, using a spoon or fork, mash the mixture until it falls apart into a chunky purée. Taste and add more sugar, vinegar, ginger and salt if needed. It should taste balanced between sweet, tangy and salty.
Step
4
Arrange salmon skin side down on the prepared baking sheet. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread half of the rhubarb mixture on top of the fillets (save remaining rhubarb for serving). Top fillets evenly with cubed butter. Roast for 8 to 13 minutes, or until the salmon is just cooked through.
Step
5
Garnish the fillets with the reserved scallions, red-pepper flakes (if using) and, if you like, a drizzle of rice wine vinegar. Serve with the remaining rhubarb sauce.
Ratings
4
out of 5
307
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
Mary Flaum
thank you Melisss for coming up with recipes using rhubarb in something other than desserts. I know that many parts of the world (like Eastern Europe) this vegetable is often used for savory dishes. Last night I made skillet chicken with rhubarb and it was fantastic! Tonight I'll try this salmon. My garden rhubarb plants are amazing right now here in Oregon.
Kris
Tried this one last night after picking up some rhubarb from the farmers market. Definitely a repeat spring dish! Loved the rhubarb sauce, super quick and easy! Ended up cooked the fish 3-4 minutes longer at 450 at the end but it was moist, flaky and delicious! My mom, who is adamant she doesn’t like salmon, even liked it if that says anything!
Ken S
Wonderful flavor combination (acid/heat/salt/sweet) that complements the salmon. Watch the rhubarb during cooking - there is a fine line between "just tender" and "completely pulped;" I think the sugary vinegar base keeps cooking the rhubarb even off heat.
Mary Jean
The first words my husband spoke after his first bite of salmon were “Save the recipe!” and so I have. Apple cider vinegar and ginger paste in a tube were fine substitutes as I did not have what Melissa specified.
Sue
This was really good -going to use the leftover sauce on a bar of cream cheese with crackers.
Yum!
Had some rhubarb from the garden and thought it would be fun to try a non dessert dish using it. VERY GOOD! Definitely a do again recipe! I tripled the sauce and am eating the extra by the spoonful. 🤣
Edith
The rhubarb sauce was too tart, added about 2 tsps maple syrup. The only change I made was to slice the rhubarb stalks very thinly, and I didn't need to mash them.
David Pring
Strongly suggest that the salmon is roasted for no more than 8-9 mins @450F.
Anny
I decided to make this recipe because it's October and my rhubarb plant is still producing. It's an awesome fall dish too! There's local green onions and I was able to buy freshly grown local ginger at my food coop here in upstate NY!
Janet Wilkins
Salmon is not a fish that I have enjoyed but I know its health benefits and so I keep trying different recipes in my effort to "acquire" a taste for it.This is definitely a keeper!!! In fact, I had made a bit too much but it was delicious even cold the next day for lunch.Thank you!!!
phillyspice
Loved this! Very easy to make, very easy to tweak as others have noted, with whatever sweetener or vinegar you have on hand. Rice wine and ginger and honey was just right for me Next time I'll try preheating the sheet pan for some crackly skin. Thank you Melissa!
nancy
Paired with salt and vinegar roasted potatoes and roasted carrots- good choices. Rhubarb wasn’t totally successful likely due to late season crop from the garden not being optimum. Roasted potatoes and carrots at 425, removed from oven, turned oven down to 400 for salmon. Cooked in 9 min.
Angela D
Ok way to use rhubarb. Would be very careful about keeping the salmon to rare next time. Didn’t have fresh ginger, which I would also make a point of using.
Ross Hunter
I’ve made this with both Chinook and Sockeye. Each required significantly different cooking times as the thickness varied. I aim for about 130 degrees which comes out right most times. I preferred the Chinook, but I usually do. My grocer prefers that I buy Chinook at $40/lb. My wife prefers the Sockeye, which is in seasons right now. I loved both.
Pamela
Good!! Better with sockeye salmon - fish stands up to sauce.
Jude
Surprisingly good with salmon. Cuts through the salmon fattiness with that salty, sweet, tangy compote flavor. Test the compote - I thought it needed more ginger to add tanginess and heat. I also doubled the compote. Next time I might put it under the broiler for the last minute to add just a bit of crunchiness. A keeper!
Kathy Wicks
I cut strawberries into the rhubarb sauce to increase the sweetness without more sugar.
cbg1300
Tart sweet rhubarb sauce makes a satisfying complement to salmon. So rare to find rhubarb in anything but dessert recipes. Next time will increase oven temp (to 400 as in Sam Sifton’s roasted salmon).
RB
I would definitely make this sauce again but not for salmon. To my palate, the salmon flavor and the rhubarb flavor didn't mesh well. I think it would be an excellent sauce for grilled pork chops or roasted turkey breast. It would be nice with a sous vide turkey breast as well.
emily s
Made this and thought it was super tasty and love using rhubarb in savory applications as well as sweet. My notes, 350 does not feel like a roasting temp, would up the oven temp for anything to caramelize it’d need to be a tad higher. Agree with the comment on another post about a fine line between tender and pulp. I’d also use a tad more vinegar since my rhubarb sauce wasn’t very saucy.Overall, very good and easy recipe!
Trefoil
Made according to directions and it was perfect! Don’t forget the scallions before serving.
CM
13 minutes works. Don’t forget scallions on top.Sauce was very good. Make when rhubarb is at it’s height.
Jill
Thank you, Melissa Clark! This will be on repeat all summer. My kids loved this! Kids helped by picking rhubarb from the garden. Cooked on the grill in a pre-heated cast iron skillet 15 minutes @ 400 degrees for a crispy skin. Last few minutes threw some leftover farro in the skillet to heat up. Absorbed all the flavors. Amazing. Served with baby kale, baby spinach, baby chard salad dressed w/vinaigrette.
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