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Bon Appétit

Lemony Salmon and Spiced Chickpeas

4.2

(21)

Image may contain Plant Food Seasoning Produce Vegetable Dish and Meal
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime

Everything’s better in bowl form, and this salmon dish flavored with a garlicky za’atar dressing is no exception. 

Reprinted With Permission From COOK90: The 30-Day Plan for Faster, Healthier, Happier Meals By David Tamarkin, Published By Little, Brown and Company, 2018

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

1

lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed

½

cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1

1½-lb. salmon fillet, preferably skin-on

½

tsp. kosher salt, plus more

Freshly ground black pepper

1

15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed, patted dry

1

garlic clove, finely chopped

2

tsp. za’atar

1

tsp. fresh lemon juice

4

cups baby arugula or baby spinach

4

radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced

Flaky sea salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 300°. Toss lemon slices in a large bowl with a drizzle of oil. Arrange slices in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Set salmon on lemons. Season salmon all over with kosher salt and pepper, then drizzle and rub with some oil. Roast until salmon is just barely opaque in the middle, 12–17 minutes, depending on thickness. If you like your salmon well-done, cook it a few minutes longer, but keep in mind that you risk the chance it will dry out. Let salmon cool, then flake into medium-size pieces with a fork.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, bring chickpeas, garlic, za’atar, and remaining ½ cup oil to a bare simmer in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if needed, 10 minutes. Stir in ½ tsp. kosher salt (less if your za’atar is salty) and remove skillet from heat.

    Step 3

    Using a slotted spoon, transfer chickpeas to a medium bowl, leaving oil behind. Whisk lemon juice into oil; taste dressing and season with more kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper if needed.

    Step 4

    Toss arugula in a large bowl with 1 tsp. dressing. Divide among bowls along with radishes, chickpeas, and salmon (and lemons if desired); drizzle with more dressing. Sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper.

Explore Bon AppétitSalmonFishSeafoodChickpeaBeanVegetableZa'atarQuickEasyWeeknight MealsMainDairy-FreeGluten-FreeRoastDinner
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Reviews (21)

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  • This was good, but not great. There are too many tweaks I needed to make to have this dish work. First, the salmon was basically raw at a 300 degree oven after 17 minutes. I added 5 more minutes and the thinner piece of salmon was fine. The thicker piece of salmon needed close to 10 more minutes, and it was still rare at its thicker parts, but that was fine. The half cup of EVOO was too much, considering the recipe said to dress the greens with 1 teaspoon, plus a little drizzle when all is done. More like 1 tablespoon to actually dress the greens. 1 teaspoon of lemon juice for almost a 1/2 cup of oil?? I put 3 teaspoons of lemon juice and it barely made a flavor difference. 2 teaspoons of Za'atar? Not much flavor from this expensive seasoning. It wasn't hard to make, but it wasn't really worth the effort. I enjoyed it, my teenage daughter liked it, but my hubby thought it was lacking.

    • Monica Lombardi

    • Virginia Beach, VA

    • 1/14/2019

  • Za'atar is nowhere to be found in local grocers in my area. Improvised with Paprika & Cumin and it was delicious. I agree with the other review, 300 degrees did nothing, I had to finish at 350 for an extra 5-7 minutes then broil for 1 minute to get the top finished off. 1/2 cup of olive oil is wasteful unless you're feeding 8-10 people. 1-2 tbs with the lemon juice is enough. I also tossed the radishes in a squeeze of lemon juice so they'd have something to them. Overall, great and quick to make. Just needs a few realistic tweaks to execute.

    • Anonymous

    • Orlando, FL

    • 1/16/2019

  • I googled how to make your own za'atar and it worked out fine. Did a little change-up, used lemon olive oil and only 1/4 c., and used two large garlic cloves. Also roasted the salmon at 400 for about 12 minutes. Also, drizzled a little of lemon oil on top before serving

    • szavadil1

    • Mpls.

    • 1/17/2019

  • This was amazing! Yes, I had to go to 3 stores to get the za'atar (2 Whole Foods were out - think a lot of Bon Appetit readers were making this). Any stores that carries Spicely (the little green boxes) should have it.

    • San Francisco

    • 1/20/2019

  • I appreciate how easy this recipe is, and the accessibility of the ingredients! I got lucky that the super market stocks za'atar. I agree that this called for way too much EVOO. Stir-fried it the next day with butter and more lemon, minus the radishes and it was fairly decent. thinking it might make a good frittata topping or omelette filling as well. It's not a bad recipe, it just needs some help. The salmon needs color, and a 300˚ for 20 minutes just didn't cut it for me.

    • EagleM16

    • Denver, CO

    • 1/22/2019

  • Just too boring and the texture combinations did not work for me. Like others made up my own Zatar mix and used a lot more to get the flavor, reduced the EVO and increased the oven heat based on the size of the salmon. But really not worth the effort (even though its an easy dish).

    • flow2stuart9081

    • Portland, ME

    • 1/25/2019

  • This is absolutely delicious. I inadvertently recylced the magazine this was featured in and I found it on line so as not to lose the recipe. The chickpeas are delicious. I couldn't find the spice in my local market so I used cumin instead. Outstanding. The salmon was so tender and the rest of the incredients really make the bowl. I added grated parmesan to the greens, with lemon juice.

    • steflindquist

    • Phoenix

    • 2/2/2019