This salmon piccata comes together in 20 minutes! Juicy salmon fillet pieces in a flavourful lemon butter sauce with capers. Restaurant quality meal that is more than achievable at home!
If a creamy sauce is more your style, take a look at our Pan Seared Salmon with Mustard Cream Sauce.
Ever since I launched this website my main desire was always to show that making high quality meals at home doesn’t have to take hours or even one hour. This salmon recipe is definitely one of those, that could be added to the Quick and Easy Category!
The pan seared Salmon Piccata in a lively lemon butter sauce, which is flavoured with shallots, garlic and capers, is stunning and it tastes every bit as good as it looks.
It takes no more than 20 minutes to prepare and required only a handful of ingredients to deliver a dish, that will absolutely wow your family! Quick to make and impressive enough to serve to guests…what’s not to love!
What is Picatta?
The Italian term ‘picatta’ usually refers to the meat that’s been pounded flat and turned into cutlets. The most famous example is Chicken Piccata. And although the sauce recipe, which was traditionally served with that dish was not set in stone, the most recognised flavour combination is lemon, butter and capers.
Chicken is great and so versatile but I wanted to change things up and use fish instead. The flavours of this Italian dish are not too dissimilar to the classic Sole Meuniere. And we know how well the lemon caper sauce compliments the delicate white fleshed fish, so why not try it on my beloved salmon?
The recipe I am sharing today is inspired by the same flavours as Chicken Piccata, but of course I am not pounding my salmon flat. There is no reason as salmon needs no help in terms of tenderising! It’s tender and juicy as is.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Choose salmon fillet pieces and remove skin.
- Dredged them in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, as per the traditional Piccata method.
- Pan sear them in butter till golden and crispy on the outside.
- Keep the cooked salmon pieces warm in a preheated to the lowest temperature oven while making the sauce. The oven helps to keep the outside of the salmon pieces crispy.
- Make the sauce but sauteing the shallots in butter, then adding minced garlic, white wine, lemon juice, capers and simmering till slightly reduced.
- Return the salmon back to the pan and serve with a touch of fresh parsley. Done.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is could be served with so many side dishes. In the summer months go for something light like my Air Fryer Potatoes and Tomato Salad with Herb Vinaigrette.
In colder months I love making my fluffy Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Lemon Garlic Green Beans with Parmesan Cheese.
This salmon is also delicious when served with rice or couscous.
More Salmon Recipes to Try:
- Tuscan Salmon with Parmesan Cream Sauce
- One Pan Chilli Garlic Salmon
- Teriyaki Salmon with Bok Choy
- Salmon and Potatoes in Foil
Salmon Piccata
Ingredients
- 4 X 120g (4 oz) salmon fillet pieces
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 shallot chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon juiced
- 0.5 lemon sliced
- 125ml/1/2 cup dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
- 4 tbsp capers
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature. Remove the skin from salmon, then pat the salmon pieces dry with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan, brown the salmon pieces in the hot oil until golden for 5 minutes on each side. A couple of minutes into the cooking add the butter to the pan. This will add more flavour and colour to the salmon. You might want to do the frying in batches to avoid overcrowding.
- Then remove the salmon from the pan and keep it warm in an oven preheated to the lowest temperature while you are making the sauce.
- To the same pan add the chopped shallot and sauté over low heat for 2 minutes, add the minced garlic and let it cook over low heat for 30 seconds, then add the white wine and let it bubble for a 2-3 minutes. Add the lemon juice, lemon slices, capers and parsley, turn up the heat and bring to a boil, as soon as it boils, lower the heat and simmer the sauce until it’s reduced in volume for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return the salmon back to the pan and spoon the sauce all over.
