Sesame and Coriander Salmon

If you’re stuck in a dinner rut and are looking to experiment with new flavours, look no further than this truly delicious salmon dish, put together by our good friend Sue Ashworth, complete with an array of equally scrumptious side dishes of Cardamom and Lemon Rice with Quinoa, Cumin-Spiced Roast Vegetables, and a Mango Salad. All beautifully seasoned with flavours from around the globe, it’s the perfect feast to serve up at a dinner party.
Sue’s a great friend of Lakeland (she writes lots of our recipes) and has been writing about food and cookery for many years, supplying features and recipes to many popular women’s magazines, websites and food companies. As a member of the Guild of Food Writers, she believes that great-tasting food shouldn’t be difficult, expensive or time-consuming to prepare, and that it’s important to have well-written recipes that are easy to follow and give great results. Just like this one!
This recipe serves 6-8 people, but you can easily adjust it to feed more or less – or save some delicious leftovers to enjoy the next day.
Sesame and Coriander Roast Side of Salmon

Ingredients:
- 1 whole side of salmon (or 6-8 salmon fillets)
- 1tbsp vegetable or olive oil
- 1tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1tsp ground coriander
- 1tsp sesame seeds
- 1tsp black onion seeds (nigella seeds)
- Generous pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
For the Mango Salad
- 1 large ripe mango, pitted and finely chopped
- ¼ cucumber, finely chopped
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1tbsp red or white wine vinegar
- 1tbsp olive oil
- Pinch of caster sugar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Handful of coriander, chopped
Instructions
- Put the side of salmon onto a large baking tray with shallow sides. If using salmon fillets, put them into a large baking dish. Mix together the vegetable or olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, ground coriander, sesame seeds, black onion seeds, chilli flakes (if using), lime zest and lime juice. Spoon onto the salmon and rub it over the surface. Cover with foil and keep chilled until ready to cook.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/Gas Mark 4.
- Bake the fish (keeping it covered with the foil) for 20-25 minutes for a salmon side, or 15-18 minutes for fillets, until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily when tested with a fork. Cool for 5-6 minutes to allow the salmon to rest.
- While the salmon is cooking, make the salad by mixing together the mango, cucumber and red onion with the vinegar and olive oil. Season with a pinch of caster sugar and some salt and pepper, then stir through the coriander. Serve with the fish or in a side dish.
Cook’s tip: If you don’t have an oven tray large enough for the whole side of salmon, simply cut the salmon in two to fit it in.
A bit on the side
Bursting with flavour, once you’ve tried these side dishes, you’ll be adding them to all your meals.
Cardamom and Lemon Rice with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 50g butter
- 4 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed
- 2tsp grated fresh root ginger
- 400g basmati rice, rinsed with water
- 100g quinoa, rinsed with water
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bashed with a rolling pin
- Pared zest of 1 lemon
- 8 cardamom pods, split
- 4 cloves
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- Fresh coriander, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4.
- Melt the butter in a large flameproof casserole dish that has a tight-fitting lid. Add the shallots or onion, garlic and ginger and sauté over a low heat for 5-6 minutes until soft, but not brown.
- Remove from the heat and add the rice, quinoa, lemongrass, lemon zest, cardamom pods, cloves and vegetable stock. Stir well, then cover with the lid. Transfer to the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven and allow it to stand for 5 minutes, without removing the lid.
- Lift the lid and remove the lemongrass. Stir the rice gently, then serve, garnished with sprigs of coriander.
Cook’s tip: Don’t be tempted to lift the lid when you remove the casserole from the oven – the rice needs to steam for 5 minutes so that it’s nice and fluffy.
If you own a Lakeland 1 litre Digital Rice Cooker you can adapt this recipe by reducing the quantities by half to prepare it in your cooker. Just start off by gently frying the shallots or onion, garlic and ginger before adding these to the cooker with the rest of the ingredients.
Cumin-spiced Roast Vegetables
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 large red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 large courgette, chopped
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 2 yellow peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 1tsp cumin seeds
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Coriander or flat leaf parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4.
- Put the sweet potato, parsnips and onion onto a baking tray and add the olive oil, tossing to coat. Roast for 10 minutes.
- Add the courgette, peppers and cumin seeds to the tray. Season with salt and pepper and stir to mix. Roast for a further 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Serve, garnished with coriander or flat leaf parsley.
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