Roasted Almond Crusted Salmon with a Pomegranate Glaze

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place aluminum foil on a baking sheet, then set a wire rack on top. Spray the rack with non-stick spray. In a bowl, combine flour, panko, almonds, bread crumbs, and a half teaspoon each of salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, add the egg whites and lightly beat with a fork.

Season the salmon with the remaining salt and pepper on both sides. Dip each piece in the egg white and coat thoroughly, then set in the bowl filled with bread crumbs, covering each piece completely and lightly pressing so the coating adheres. Gently place on the wire rack. I find that spritzing each piece of salmon with non-stick spray or olive oil gives the crust a nice crisp.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and fish is flaky. Immediately after the fish goes into the oven, combine the vinegar and pomegranate juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5-8 minutes, watching carefully so the mixture does not boil over and stirring every so often. Turn off heat and let sit aside for 10-15 minutes to thicken. Drizzle on salmon before serving.

Notes:

As long as you use a wire rack, the fish should not need flipped during cooking. If you do not have a wire rack, place the fish on a baking sheet and gently flip halfway through cooking. You may lose a bit of the breading though.

I’ve found that my favorite bread crumb coating is a mixture of panko + regular crumbs + flour (and in this case, the almonds), but if you only have 1 or 2 of those ingredients they should also work fine.

I roasted whole, raw almonds at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes, tossing every 3-5 minutes. I then crushed them in the food processor, but you can also roughly chop with a knife, then use a bag and a rolling pin.

I tend to use beaten egg whites with fish as opposed to the whole egg because I find that it can add a bit of “eggy” flavor to the delicate fish. You can definitely use the whole egg if you’d like.