Pan Seared Salmon with Sweet Tahini Sauce – Leite’s Culinaria

This pan seared salmon with sweet tahini sauce was truly a memorable dish, fit for family and special guests! Not only was it a simple recipe to execute, the flavors of the dish just captured that traditional Eastern Mediterranean essence.

As to the execution of the recipe, a beautiful, crispy golden crust was easily achieved on the salmon using the recommended cooking times and temperatures.

I found that after cooking the salmon, I had about 2 tablespoons of oil left in the pan. Instead of adding the additional 3 tablespoons of olive oil to it, I wiped out the old oil and started with a fresh 3 tablespoons to sauté the onions. This worked well and the onions were soft and translucent in about 10 mins.

After adding the garlic, cumin and then the tahini sauce to the pan, the mixture thickened and reduced by about a quarter at 5 mins. on simmer. Because I wanted a slightly thinner sauce, I added a touch of water and only cooked the salmon for another minute after it was returned to the pan. Perfect consistency in the end.

My garnishes included all that were suggested and I wouldn’t skip any of them when I make it again.

My first bite was a definitive WOW! A perfectly cooked piece of salmon with a crispy exterior, bathed in a slightly sweet, earthy, nutty tahini/pomegranate molasses sauce. And the added crunch from those pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts, along with the fresh parsley really pushed this already amazing dish over the edge.

I did serve this dish with a side of lemon Israeli couscous, which was delicious. I found, however, that it competed somewhat with the array of flavors in the sauce and from the salmon. Hence, I would recommend a simpler side dish such as plain white rice, quinoa, couscous, or just some flatbread to soak up every bit of that wonderful sauce.