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This cherry almond pan-seared salmon is made with fish seasoned with citrus and served with an easy cherry amaretto pan-sauce. Perfect for date night!
This post is sponsored by Regal New Zealand King Salmon.
Do you love Bing cherries?
Growing up, we rarely had these dark red treats. The tiny stone fruits were missing from my life, except when we went to the beach.
Beach days meant coolers of whatever fruit we wanted.
We’d spend our vacation days gorging ourselves on cherries and ignoring the red tell-tale cherry stains on our lips and faces.
Years later, I still love cherries. At some point, I realized that a little self-control with cherries could be an excellent thing.
Why? Cherries are perfect for eating on their own, of course, but they’re also perfect cooked!!
Go figure.
In particular, they’re amazing with salmon.
This recipe for pan-seared salmon with cherry almond sauce is perfect for date night, is easy to make, and is ready in about 25 minutes.
What Type of Salmon Should I Use?
The salmon in the photos is King salmon, the fattiest and most luxurious type of salmon!
Recently, I’ve been getting wild King salmon deliveries from Sitka Salmon Shares, and couldn’t be happier!
Can’t find King salmon? No worries!
This recipe works with any type of salmon fillet. But keep your eye out for King salmon, it’s fabulous!
Want more king salmon? Try these: Grilled Salmon with Plum Sauce, Poached Salmon with Blueberry Sauce, and King Salmon Recipe Ideas
Can I Use Frozen Cherries?
Yes!
Your sauce will just have a slightly different texture than if you’d used fresh cherries.
Can I Swap a Different Type of Sweet Cherry?
Definitely.
I used Bing cherries, but you could also use other varieties of sweet cherries– like black or Rainier cherries.
No cherry pitter? Simply slice the cherries in half and remove the pit.
How to Make Seared Salmon with Cherry Almond Topping
To make this dish, you’ll start by toasting raw almond slices in butter until they’re golden.
Next, scoop the almonds out, add a little olive oil, and then pan-sear the salmon.
Then, take the fish out of the pan, and add the cherries, amaretto and lemon juice to the pan. Simmer the fruit for just a few minutes, and then it’s ready!
Serve the fish with the cherry pan-sauce and almonds for a luxurious summer dinner.
Need more help? Check out this tutorial on How to Cook Salmon and How to Pan-Sear Fish.
Want more SUMMER SEAFOOD recipe ideas? Try grilled swordfish with pesto, grilled lobster tails with bourbon sauce, anchovy gazpacho.
Pan-Seared Salmon with Almond Cherry Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounces salmon (2 fillets)
- pinch salt, pepper
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ¼ cup sliced raw almonds
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup sweet cherries (such as bing cherries), pitted
- ¼ cup amaretto
Instructions
- Pat salmon dry. Sprinkle fillets on both sides with salt and pepper and rub the lemon zest onto the flesh side of the salmon.
- In a large shallow pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.When the butter is melted (but not browned) add the almonds and cook until the nuts are golden (2-3 minutes).Scoop the almonds out of the butter and set aside.
- Increase heat to medium. Add the olive oil to the pan. Place the fillets in the pan and cook 2-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.As the fish cooks, the flesh will begin to turn opaque from the bottom up. When the fish has cooked halfway through, it's ready to flip.Avoid touching the fish until the fish is ready to flip.
- Use a thin metal spatula to test the fish. If you can slide the spatula under the fish without the fish sticking to the pan, it's ready to flip. If the fillets won't release- give them another 30 seconds. They'll release when they've finished cooking.Cook fish another 2-4 minutes until done. Timing will depend on the thickness of the fillet. (Watch the sides of the fillets to see when the fish is done cooking. It's finished as soon as there are no more translucent patches and it's fully opaque.)
- Transfer the fish to plates, leaving the excess butter in the pan. Cover fish to keep warm, or set fish in a 200ºF oven. Reduce heat to medium-low.Stepping back in case of splash-back, add amaretto to the pan. Next, add cherries and the reserved lemon juice. Simmer cherries for about 2 minutes. While cherries sear, smash them with the back of a spoon to release juices. Serve salmon immediately with almonds and cherries.
Oh me oh my! You already know my stance on salmon. But I also happen to *LOVE* cherries and almonds together. And toasting nuts! I love everything about this!
Thanks Dana! Go find their king salmon! You’ll be obsessed 😀
This looks utterly amazing ~ we are such salmon fiends in this house, and I keep hearing about how amazing New Zealand salmon is, I’m plugging my zip code into the store finder now!
YESSSS go get some!! It’s fantastic!!
I like that you’ve added amaretto with the Salmon. With the cherries sweetness, the amaretto’s depth and the almond for a texture add I just know this will be fantastic. Im always looking for recipes that when I serve them they look professional and all…. this totally hits on all those marks! (and ps, I have some King Salmon my sister in law just brought with her from Alaska…. #winning… thats a sign right?
Thanks Michele!!! This really is gorgeous plated- you’ll love it!!! (And yessss it means you have to try it!! Hahaha)
So many of my favourite things together in one place – salmon (and hooray for King/Chinook), cooking with fruit, and Bing cherries. AWESOME. And you’ve brought almonds into the mix too, which always makes me happy, as they’re the perfect accompaniment to cherries. Thanks for the health information on salmon too, and as always, for being a blogger who really focuses on the differences and nuances of seafood. It’s wonderful to see, and I always appreciate it!
Thanks Sean!! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading about salmon- there’s so many different types and it’s fun to compare! Let me know if you try it out!
I love cherry sauces on grilled meats, but hadn’t thought to pair them with salmon! What a delicious idea. I’ll be making this over the weekend when I have friends over! This salmon is absolutely gorgeous, too. I’m going to Costco later in the week and have these on my list to find. They look luxurious!
I have two problems! One, I want to eat all the cherries fresh, and two, I always end up making my go-to salmon recipe instead of trying something new and exciting like this! This is ON MY LIST for this summer though, because it sounds amazing!