This miso garlic butter seared salmon with grape salsa and creamy goat cheese orzo is the perfect healthy yet comforting weekend dish. Sockeye salmon is pan-seared and topped with miso garlic balsamic butter sauce and grape basil salsa. It’s served on a bed of creamy goat cheese, caper, herb, and kale orzo. All in all, this is the perfect salmon dinner that looks fancy, but is really quite quick to prepare.

I had a hard time deciding which recipe to share today. It was between this salmon and healthy thumbprint cookies, two ways. The salmon won out because I am so pleased with how this dish turned out, and I think that if you are doing any sort of entertaining this weekend, it would be a huge hit. I’ll share the cookies on Monday, though! Do you have any big plans for the weekend? My family is spoiling me with a little convocation party. With convocation cancelled this year due to the pandemic, they insisted on marking the occasion in some way, and I said a picnic would be nice! So that is the plan for Saturday. Other than that, I have no big plans.

As I have mentioned, my recipe development has been more spontaneous this summer than it was in the past. I am allowing myself to be inspired by ingredients that are in season, that I have on hand, and that I am loving at the moment. I have recently rediscovered my love of orzo. It was always a childhood favourite of mine and my brother’s; my mom used to prepare it with lots of butter and parmesan and serve it with chicken and veggies. It was a big hit amongst us kids and all of our friends, as you can imagine. I have wanted to get more creative with this ingredient, so I have been playing around with different orzo recipes, and I must say that the creamy goat cheese orzo is one of my favourites to date. (And if you’re vegan or dairy-free, I’ll be sharing a creamy vegan orzo with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and seared tofu next week!)

The miso garlic balsamic butter idea came out of a recipe that I developed for Ottawa Farm Fresh last week. I used it as a glaze for their summer cabbage. As soon as I tasted it, I knew that it would be equally delicious on salmon. So using it as a salmon sauce this week was a no-brainer. I opted to sear the salmon, which I had not done since before I went vegetarian a decade ago. For the last little while, I have been baking salmon, but I had forgotten how much better it tastes when seared. It’s juicier, more tender, and flavourful. I think I have a tendency to over-bake my salmon, so this seared salmon was just the change that I needed.

ingredients you’ll need

For the miso garlic butter seared salmon, you’ll need wild sockeye salmon, extra virgin olive oil, salted butter, garlic, balsamic vinegar, dark miso, honey, and red pepper flakes.

For the grape salsa, you’ll need grapes, lime juice and zest, basil, and salt.

For the creamy goat cheese orzo, you’ll need extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, orzo, dry white wine, water, chèvre, capers, kale, basil, and lemon juice.

the method

Prepare the salmon: Slice the salmon into 6 filets. Season with salt and pepper.

Warm half of the oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Once hot, add three of the salmon filets, skin-side down. Cook for five minutes, flip, and cook 2-3 minutes more, or until cooked through and done to your liking. Remove from the pan and peel off the skin.

Repeat step 2 with the remaining oil and three salmon filets.

Meanwhile, make the miso garlic balsamic butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the minced garlic and turn up heat to medium. Cook until the garlic is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue cooking until it has reduced slightly, about 4 more minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the miso, honey, and red pepper flakes.

Make the grape salsa: Combine the chopped grapes, lime zest and juice, basil, and a small pinch of salt in a bowl and stir.

Make the creamy goat cheese orzo: In a large saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, five minutes. Add the orzo and cook until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add the white wine to deglaze the pot. Next, add the water and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and continue cooking, stirring often, until the orzo is al dente, 8 minutes. At this point, if the orzo seems too dry, add another ½ cup of water. Stir in the chèvre, capers, and kale. Cook until the kale turns bright green. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon and basil. Taste and add additional salt, if desired.

Serve: Warm the salmon back up over low heat, if desired. Spoon the miso garlic balsamic butter over the filets. Divide the orzo between bowls and top each serving with salmon and grape salsa. Alternatively, for a pretty presentation, transfer the orzo into a cast iron skillet or onto a platter and top with the salmon and salsa.

more summer dinner ideas

Lastly, I hope that you love this miso garlic butter seared salmon with grape salsa and creamy goat cheese orzo! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post, and if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.

Enjoy!