Paprika and Lemon Salmon

For me, a perfect meal: the most tender salmon fillets seasoned with a spicy, lemon-flavored blend. It's a low-carb recipe, full of protein, spicy and lemony — just what I'm looking for to bring salmon to life!

This salmon recipe is ideal for everyday cooking: a very easy-to-prepare meal - the seasoning sauce takes no time - and we also make it in record time because we'll cook it in a pressure cooker, and with 3 minutes of cooking you'll have the salmon ready.

This way, we'll make steamed and pressure-cooked salmon in express time, a great option to retain all the salmon's properties and flavor, in a recipe I hope you really enjoy.

Ingredients for making the salmon

Before putting the salmon in the pot to cook it, we'll season it with an intense blend: we'll make a mix of herbs and spices like paprika, cayenne pepper, thyme and basil, among others, and give it a vibrant, intense lemon touch.

If all of this sounds good to you, to get started with the recipe you'll need: salmon fillets (fresh or frozen), unsalted butter, fresh garlic, onion powder, paprika (sweet, hot or a mix of both depending on your preference for intensity), cayenne pepper, basil, salt and pepper and lemon.

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 salmon fillets
• 4 tablespoons (about 45 g) unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika*
• 1/2 cayenne pepper
• 1/2 black pepper
• 2 tablespoons basil
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon (about 15 g) lemon juice

*You can substitute part of the sweet paprika with hot paprika if you want more intensity.

WMF garlic press, Le Creuset Skillet pan and WMF Perfect pressure cooker

Preparation

1. Clean the salmon and pat it dry with paper towels.
2. Make a few small cuts or prick it with a toothpick (this will help the seasoning penetrate the fillet).
3. Season both sides of the fillets with salt and pepper, and place them in the pressure cooker's steam basket. Set aside.
4. In a saucepan or skillet, place the butter and add the chopped garlic with a garlic press.
5. Then add the paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and basil. Stir for 1 minute or until the butter has melted and then remove from the heat. Let it infuse for a few more minutes. Add the lemon juice and stir.
6. Using a kitchen brush, generously brush the salmon with the mixture you prepared, making sure there is garlic and all kinds of seasoning on the fillets.
7. Place 800 ml of water in the WMF Perfect pressure cooker (or fill the bottom with 1 finger of water), add the basket support and put the basket with the salmon inside. Cover the pot and set it over high heat.
8. When the pressure rings appear, count 3 minutes and turn off the heat. Wait for the rings to drop by themselves (with the heat off, it will lose pressure in very little time) and open the lid.
9. Remove the basket from the pot and serve hot.

WMF Perfect pressure cooker with steam basket

Notes

• You can accompany this salmon with roasted peppers, asparagus or eggplant. Also with rice you'll have a very complete dish, or you can use the salmon chopped and mixed with pasta (you'll see how tasty it is!). Today, I served it with some simple but delicious pan-sautéed mushrooms.
• I made the recipe in the WMF Perfect pressure cooker, but you should follow exactly the same process and times if using other super-fast pressure cookers, such as the Premium or Perfect Plus.
• At Claudia&Julia we are big fans and specialists in pressure cookers! In fact, we love them so much we made a pressure cooker recipe book with Editorial Cúpula. If you're looking for more pressure cooker recipes for everyday cooking, I encourage you to see Cook in a Pressure Cooker. I hope you enjoy it!

Recipe variations

We make the recipe in a pressure cooker, ideal for cooking quickly, keeping it very tender and having it ready in just three minutes.

But you can cook the salmon, after seasoning it, in a pan (it’s recommended to do it in a cast-iron pan or in a skillet), or also you can make the salmon in the oven. What’s nice in this case about making it in the oven is that using lemon and butter will help it get browned on the outside yet very tender and juicy on the inside. To bake it, use a baking tray, a cast-iron skillet.

Things to keep in mind if you do it in the oven:

If you bake it, it will take about 15 minutes to cook once the oven is hot, depending on how well or lightly done you prefer it. You'll know it's done when the thickest part of the salmon flakes when trying to separate it with a knife. Be careful when serving the salmon; use a wide spatula to lift each fillet properly from underneath or it will flake apart.

In any case, don't miss making this smoked paprika salmon recipe in a pressure cooker; it's quick, comes out very juicy and delicious.

Le Creuset non-stick pan, WMF wooden board and Emile Henry ceramic plates