It is salmon season and I am ready to party!  I scored a gorgeous piece of Copper River sockeye salmon and I knew just what I wanted to do with it.  I love the combo of a flavorful spice rub and a fruit salsa.  This pineapple salsa is something I have paired with before in Kitchen Matters with chipotle shrimp tacos.  I saw Carolina Gelen score salmon in an instagram reel and I thought it was a clever way to really get the spices to adhere to more of the fish.  So good!

Why you’ll love this roasted salmon with pineapple salsa recipe

• refreshing for summer; 
• easy and quick to make; 
• the seasonings really get into the salmon;
• you can use the salsa with chips or other proteins like chicken or shrimp or a white fish!

Ingredients

• Pineapple – is delicious with seafood. Make sure your pineapple is ripe for best flavor. If you’re willing to go the extra step, I love grilling it for an extra flavor boost. 
• Onion – you only need a little bit of onion for the pineapple salsa. I prefer using white or red onion since both are bit milder than yellow onion when consumed raw. 
• Lime juice – I like to use freshly squeezed lime juice for best flavor. 
• Jalapeño – I use 1 jalapeño in the salsa. It may seem like a lot, but I didn’t find it to be spicy, especially if you remove the seeds. Feel free to use half a jalapeño if you prefer. 
• Mint – is such a refreshing herb. I love using it in salads and blended in dressings. It’s amazing in the pineapple salsa. 
• Cilantro – is one of my favorite herbs to use in salsa. If you’re not a fan of cilantro, feel free to omit and use more mint instead. 
• Salmon – I used Copper River salmon for this recipe, which is truly the best salmon I can find. It’s only in season from May to September. If you can’t find a fish market in your area that carries it, you can buy some directly from copperriversalmon.org (not sponsored, I just love it.)
• Paprika – I use regular paprika, also known as sweet paprika.  It’s milder than smoked paprika. 
• Smoked Paprika – has a smoky flavor and is not spicy. I use this in combination with regular paprika in the spice rub for the salmon. 
• Garlic Powder – I like to use garlic powder in place of fresh garlic for a milder garlic flavor. 

How to make roasted salmon with pineapple salsa

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Make the salsa by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
3. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Transfer the salmon to a parchment lined baking sheet and score the salmon on the flesh side, making cuts halfway to ¾ through the fish.
4. Sprinkle the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper over the fish and then drizzle with olive oil. Rub it all through the fish.
5. Roast in the oven until almost cooked through, about 9 minutes for one-inch thickness.
6. Turn on the broiler. Set to HI if your oven has that option.
7. Position the salmon about 6 inches from the heat source and broil for 1-2 minutes or until just slightly browned. Watch it and don’t leave the oven just in case!
8. Serve with pineapple salsa.

Tips 

• This technique is great if you have a very thick piece of fish and you want to get your seasoning throughout. If your fish is thin, you can still score it for presentation. 
• The seasoning is super neutral so you can serve it alone or with practically any sauce, vinaigrette or salsa. 
• Other salsas that would work nicely here are the corn salsa, mango salsa, raw tomato and basil sauce (from pasta all checca), basil pesto made without cheese, mint drizzle, and green goddess tzatziki. 
• I know it’s an extra step, but grilling the pineapple and then dicing it is delicious here! Cut pineapple in half lengthwise, brush both sides with oil and I recommend brushing the grill with oil as well. Grill until you get nice char marks . You can also do half pineapple and half avocado. 

Substitutions 

• Salmon – grilled or roasted mahi mahi or another thick white fish or roasted cauliflower steaks with the same seasoning and adding some black beans to the pineapple salsa if protein is needed. 
• Cilantro – omit or use extra mint

Other recipes you may like 

*Pistachio-Crusted Salmon

*Slow Roasted Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa

*Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon with Lemon-Mustard Dressing

*Grilled Halibut with watermelon Pico de Gallo

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Pamela Salzman (@pamelasalzman)

If you give this roasted salmon with pineapple salsa recipe a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes,  updates and things I’m loving lately.  If you enjoy this recipe, I taught it last year in my online class!  Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better, healthier cook!