This Easy and Complete Salmon Dinner Is Both Company-Worthy and Weeknight-Friendly

This elegant dinner is a lot simpler — and faster — to make than the final result would lead you to believe. Chef Jp McMahon blanches new potatoes until tender, then finishes them in a skillet to achieve a golden brown crust. He serves them along with wilted spinach, crispy-skinned salmon, and a reduction of heavy cream and cider. Together, the rich, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth fish; crispy-tender potatoes; and cider-spiked cream transform into a spectacular dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between hard apple cider and apple cider?

Hard cider contains alcohol, typically 4% to 7% ABV, while apple cider is nonalcoholic. Hard apple cider is made by adding yeast to apple juice to ferment the sugars into alcohol. For this reason, hard apple cider is often less sweet than apple cider.

What’s the key to achieving crispy-skinned salmon?

For golden, crispy salmon skin, it’s important to pat the fish skin dry before cooking. Preheat the skillet with oil over moderate heat, and cook the salmon, skin side down, until golden brown and crisp. This recipe calls to finish cooking the salmon in the oven, but you can also flip the fillets and finish cooking them skin side up in the skillet.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Samuel Smith’s hard apple cider is available at specialty liquor stores or online at samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk. If you can’t source Samuel Smith’s, any hard apple cider will also be delicious in this recipe.