This Seared Salmon with Rosemary Grapes is ready in about 10 minutes, and is perfect for weeknight dinners, date nights, or as the seafood centerpiece at a dinner party.
If you landed here looking for a CRANBERRY CHUTNEY salmon recipe, you aren’t lost! Check the recipe card notes to swap the grapes for cranberry sauce.
This past winter, I had a love affair with hot smoked paprika. Ever since, I’ve been sprinkling it on fish obsessively. So far, my favorite fish and paprika combination is salmon covered in the earthy red spice, and seared to perfection.
This easy and delicious dinner is ‘fancy-schmancy’ enough for dinner parties or date night, but is so quick to prepare and addictively flavorful that I make it for weeknight dinners too! This Seared Salmon is heavily dusted with smoked paprika, quickly seared, and then topped with a delicious grape chutney.
Choosing Quality Salmon (When you’re landlocked)
It’s no secret that I’m landlocked– I live in Central Appalachia (near the Kentucky Bourbon Trail), and fresh fish is normally not available. Some of you live near the ocean, have easy access to fresh fish, can probably talk to fishmongers, and are confident that you know where your fish came from. What about the rest of us?
Obviously, I eat a lot of fish even though I don’t live near the sea. That means, as you probably already guessed, that I’m almost always cooking fish that has, at some point, been frozen.
Fish that’s been frozen can be just as delicious as fresh fish. Don’t let being landlocked stop you from cooking fish! What should you look for? Watch for a “Best Aquaculture Practices” (BAP) label for farmed salmon, a Marine Stewardship Council for wild salmon, or labels that clearly tell you where the fish is from.
Learn more about salmon: Check out this post– Types of Salmon: An Ultimate Guide.
Making Seared Salmon with Rosemary Grapes
To make this easy seafood dinner, you need two salmon fillets, a little Spanish smoked paprika, a pinch of salt, some red grapes, a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, balsamic vinegar, and a little olive oil.
Start by rubbing the fish with paprika and salt, and then sear it, skin-side down, until the fish has cooked about 3/4 of the way through. (You’ll be able to see the translucent flesh turn opaque as it cooks.) Next, flip the salmon over, and finish searing.
Need more help? Check out this tutorial on How to Pan-Sear Fish.
Take the fish out of the pan, and cover it to keep it warm. Add the grapes, rosemary and a little more oil, and let the grapes sear for a couple minutes. While they cook, smash them down and burst them a little to release the juices.
Serve the salmon with the grapes, and dig in while it’s all still hot!
Seared Paprika Salmon with Rosemary Grapes
Want more DATE NIGHT SALMON recipes? Try these:
- Salmon Wellington
- Bourbon Salmon with Pecans
- King Salmon Recipe: Grilled Salmon with Plum Sauce
- Poached Salmon with Blueberry Sauce
Seared Paprika Salmon with Rosemary Grapes
This Seared Salmon with Rosemary Grapes is ready in about 10 minutes, and is perfect for weeknight dinners, date nights, or as the seafood centerpiece at a dinner party.
Ingredients
- 1 TB butter OR olive oil
- 2 salmon fillets, skin on (~4oz each)
- 1 TB smoked paprika
- pinch salt, pepper
- 1 cup red grapes, washed and stems removed
- 2-3 sprigs rosemary, removed from stems
Instructions
Pat salmon dry. Pat dry again. (Wet fish will not sear). Rub fish on both sides with paprika, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat butter in a stainless steel or cast iron pan over medium-high heat, until butter is hot but not browned.
Set salmon, skin side down, in hot pan. Sear, without touching or trying to move salmon, for approximately 4 minutes per 1/2 inch thickness. Salmon will begin to cook from the bottom up- turning from pale pink to a whiter, less translucent hue. Salmon is ready to flip when the fish has cooked approximately 3/4 of the way through.
Use thin metal spatula to flip salmon. If salmon sticks to the pan, allow it to cook another 30 seconds and try again until it's loosened.
Once salmon is flipped, sear it for about 1 minute. Remove salmon from pan, and cover it with a paper towel to keep it hot.
Turn heat down to medium. Add grapes and rosemary and allow them to sear for about 2 minutes. While grapes sear, smash them with the back of a spoon to release juices.
Serve salmon immediately with rosemary grapes.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Variation:
- Swap cranberry sauce for the grapes: Microwave 1 cup cranberries with 1/2 cup orange juice + 1 TB maple syrup. Pour into the skillet after you've removed the salmon, and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.
Wow, that looks yum! I’m a smoked paprika addict but never tried it with salmon. Did you know fish that has been frozen is safer? In the UK fish for sushi has to have been frozen for at least a week.
Yup I’m a huge fan of frozen fish! I always use frozen when I make lox or anything else that’s not really cooked.
I am just totally digging this recipe, Sarah! I loved smoked paprika too and salmon is a favourite of mine. What a wicked combination paired with the grapes!! This sounds and looks so good to me!! Going to have to give this one a try soon 🙂 Happy Monday to ya!
That paprika glaze on the salmon looks to die for! I’m big into smoked paprika too and that sweet grape chutney would be great with the really bold smokiness. Frozen fresh is great, whether it’s store bought or freshly caught by yourself and then frozen for later. I’m learning that with shrimp here. I can get fresh fish pretty easily but the fish guy at my market said most shrimp consumed here is actually caught in other countries, frozen, and then sits unthawed on display. He said it’s better to just go buy the packaged shrimp unless you live right near the ocean.
Thanks Meg! And yup- actually with shrimp look for shrimp caught in the USA because there’s a huge slave labor scandal going on with imported shrimp!
What a great looking recipe. I love the sweetness the grapes would add without sugar and the bit of savory from the rosemary. I’ll have to try the smoked paprika. I’ve never seasoned salmon like that. I’m landlocked too (Nebraska) and often find the frozen fresh is much better than a couple of places that claim they fly it in fresh. Your tips are perfect. Thank you!
Oh that’s good to know!!! There’s a place downtown that flys in fish, but it’s pretty $$$ and I’ve never ordered it! (I wasn’t impressed with the meal they served, so I question their fish quality lol)
I love the smell of rosemary soooo much ❤ with the grapes and salmon. Oh yum
I love the idea of all the spices in this recipe! The salmon sounds perfect, and the grapes just sound amazing! There is just something special about cooked grapes, it changes the flavor so much, and the idea of rosemary with it sounds so delicious! What a lovely meal!
I have such a love hate relationship with cooking fish. I love the taste of it, but hate cooking it because it always seems to disintegrate when I cook it. Your tip about drying the fish is the step Ive obviously always missed, well and maybe the one where I just leave it alone!?!
I too am a lover of the smokiness of paprika…. and oh my…. I am seriously drooling over the grape chutney you are describing here…. I will ABSOLUTELY be making this very soon!
Oh I hope that helps!! Yes it should be dry and room temperature when you go to sear it!!! Let me know if you need more help ????
I am also landlocked and most-often buy frozen seafood. No shame in it. I agree with you that you can still have a delicious dish with the right frozen fish selection. The grape chutney sounds amazing combined with that smokey paprika (which I am obsessed with too!)
This is an interesting combination I just love salmon.
Well, this is a perfectly timed recipe post for me to be reading, because I literally just unpacked an order from my favorite spice store containing a fresh jar of Spanish smoked paprika! I absolutely love the sound of the grapes with these flavors. What a great way to get an easy and wholesome dinner on the table. Definitely making this one over the next few days!
Yay enjoy!!!!!
I cannot wait to try this! I live in Alaska and eat salmon about once a week. Trying to find new fresh recipes for salmon is always an task!
Oh yay! And wow I’m so jealous— Wow the salmon you’ll get to try in Alaska!!! Let me know when you try this!