Recipe: Quick Salmon & Couscous with Cilantro Vinaigrette
Six Ingredients (and Salt)

This dish will officially cure you of boring weeknight chicken blues. Not only does the recipe come together incredibly quickly (like, 15 minutes!), but it's something I'd order in a restaurant, and at a fraction of the price. The vinaigrette adds a fresh, bright flavor to otherwise bland couscous and scallions provide a satisfying green crunch to buttery smooth salmon.

This recipe is the result of a mostly lazy attempt on my part to incorporate more fish into my diet. Something about putting together a seafood dinner during the week has always seemed like major work to me. That is, until I tried this dish. A handful of ingredients and a trip to the seafood counter and you're set. The resulting meal is simple, but somehow, also sophisticated.

This recipe also belongs to our Six Ingredients (and Salt) series — recipes like this quick soup that call for no more than six ingredients. We do allow for cupboard staples — specifically salt and pepper, and olive oil. But other than that you won't have to have any more than six ingredients on hand to make these recipes.

My favorite detail is seasoning the salmon with sumac. If you've never used sumac before, it has a lemony flavor ideal for fish. If you can't locate it, try paprika instead.

Sautéed Salmon with Cilantro Vinaigrette over Couscous Serves 2

1 10-ounce box plain couscous (1 1/2 cups)
1 10-ounce salmon fillet, skin removed and cut in 2 pieces
1/2 teaspoon sumac
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cook couscous according to package directions.

Season salmon with sumac, salt, and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add salmon and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Combine cilantro, scallions, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve salmon over couscous, drizzled with vinaigrette.

(Images: Stephanie Barlow)

Comments (24)

Mmm! simple and delicious looking - I must try this soon.

for gluten-free folks, you could substitute the couscous with quinoa - tasty!

Wow, I was just looking at salmon recipes on epicurious as I happen to have 2 filets in my refrigerator that I plan to cook tonight. How timely!

This looks super-yummy! I will make it tonight.

Any suggestions what to replace the cilantro with?

@Christine M. - If cilantro is not your thing, try this with just the scallions. The lemon juice adds enough flavor to keep the vinaigrette tasty. Let us know how it is!

@JulesBeth - Absolutely!

Not really my thing indeed :)
Thanks for the tip, i'll definitely try it over the weekend when I stop by the grocers!

Looks good! Anyone have any suggestions for a substitute for sumac?

@ Christine M
You can use flat leaf parsley for the cilantro.

What a beautiful meal!

I didn't think sumac had much of a taste (to like or not like), I'll have to pay more attention next time.

you will really taste the sumac if you add it in the vinaigrette. In general, I think adds more flavor if you sprinkle it over the meat, rather than as seasoning before grilling.
I should give this a try though. Thanks!

Oh, I wish I had seen this before dinner - I was definitely in a dinner rut tonight! This looks delightful and may make an appearance on my table later this week!

Made this tonight and it was fabulous and as quick as could be!

Made this last night! It was just what I needed.. something quick and really tasty.

don't be scared off by cooking fish ... I always find it one of the easiest and quickest meals to prepare! Can even microwave it to great results!

Made this earlier this week with a few changes to accommodate what I had in the house (paprika instead of sumac, half of a grated tomato for half of the lemon juice, quinoa instead of couscous) and it was delicious! Will definitely make again. Thanks for a great, easy, healthful recipe.

Mmm that sounds better to me than the original recipe holly!

This is the second time I make it (with parsley and paprika to replace the cilantro/sumac) and I love it. Even better, the bf really enjoys it too.

This was tasty and super easy.

I used Israeli couscous and once that was done cooking I added chickpeas that I had pan fried with paprika, salt and pepper. I served it with sauteed kale.

I tried this recipe last night with quinoa instead of couscous and paprika instead of sumac. It was so, so good.

I'm glad to see that others have liked it with parsely instead of cilantro, because it was kind of a fluke that I had cilantro to use up last night. I'll be more likely to try this in the future with parsely.

Can you bake the salmon instead of cooking it on the stove top?

This has been on my to-do list for awhile. I finally made it--and it was delicious!

Oh good! We eat salmon regularly and I am always looking for a new way to prepare it. But I will be leaving the skin on - my sweetie likes crispy salmon skin. And we are gluten free, so I think I will try it with either millet or quinoa.

Holy goodness, I made this tonight for dinner and it was terrific. Just terrific. My couscous was done cooking in about two minutes, so while the salmon was searing (which was only 5 minutes a side) I made the vinaigrette (though I forgot the oil and added some fresh parsley) and poured it in the couscous, then made it again, and after I put the salmon on top I drizzled it on the salmon. Seriously this recipe is amaze-balls. At first it feels a little too light, but in about ten minutes we felt mighty full. My 6-month old has started "eating" with the family, so I gave her some couscous and salmon. She really loved it. I will be making this often and for many people.