This vibrant, fresh and bright one pan dish is going to be your GO TO for weeknight dinners. 

Lately I’m finding that getting dinner ready during the week is a struggle – with work, a new baby, and lots on the go, I want to be able to get something tasty on the table in under 30 minutes without messing up my entire kitchen.

This one pan dish is perfect because not only are we building SO MUCH FLAVOUR along the way, but you only have one dish to clean after. It’s a pretty great scenario we’ve got going on here.

How to make Mediterranean Salmon One Pan:

This one pan dish is incredibly simple to make and requires minimal ingredients! Let’s break down how to make the recipe step-by-step, and I’ve also included a video tutorial here as well:

Equipment Used:

• Knives
• Walnut Cutting Board
• Nonstick Pan 
• Spatula
• Wooden Spoon
• Liquid Measuring Cup

Step One:

I like getting all my mise en place ready to go beforehand, that way it’s just tossing all the ingredients in the pan as we go. 

Salmon: I like to remove the salmon from the fridge about 20 minutes prior to using it. This way it will cook more evenly! Pat dry the salmon to remove the excess moisture, this way we can get a crispier sear on the salmon. Season with just some salt and white pepper.

Step Two:

Shallots: Mince a shallot finely

Garlic: Mince 3 cloves of garlic finely

Zucchini: I like cutting off the ends and then slicing into half moon shapes (but really any shape will do here)

Step Three:

In a pan over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and then toss in the chopped zucchini. Season with salt/pepper. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes (you don’t want them to get super soft and mushy, rather you just want them to get a bit golden on the outside).

Once the zucchini is nice and golden you can remove from the heat and set them to the side.

Step Four:

In the same pan, add the salmon filets and sear for a few minutes on each side. Once the salmon is cooked to your desired doneness you can remove them and set to the side.

Step Five:

Next, add in a knob of butter and reduce the heat to medium. Once the butter has melted, add in the minced shallot and garlic and stir for a couple minutes until softened and fragrant.

Your kitchen is going to be smelling AMAZING AT THIS POINT.

Step Six:

Add in the orzo now and continue to stir as this lightly toasts. Toasting the orzo is going to give it such a beautiful and nutty flavour – it’s my absolutely favourite. This should take a few minutes, but look for a slight golden colour to the orzo before moving on to the next step.

Step Seven:

Deglaze the pan with stock and continue to stir as the orzo starts to absorb the liquid. We are continuing to build so much flavour into this orzo!

You will definitely need at least 2 cups of liquid for the 1 cup of orzo. Once all of the liquid has absorbed, taste the orzo and see if it’s still too al dente. If it’s too al dente for your liking, continue to add more stock (1/4 cup at a time) and stir. This is almost similar to a risotto method of cooking!

Step Eight:

Once all of the liquid has absorbed you can add the zucchini back in, give it all a stir, and then top with the salmon filets. Option to close the lid and let everything come together for a minute or two prior to serving.

Top with the juice from half a lemon, some crumbled feta, and freshly chopped dill! Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you like this One Pan recipe you may also like:

Caramelized Lemon Chicken

One Pan Garlic Ginger Chicken

Perfect Salmon Salad

Beer Pairing:

Shoutout to my neighbour, Pam, who dropped off this delicious and refreshing Summer Shandy from Leinenkugel. This beer won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the Fruit Wheat Beer category!

It has a natural lemonade flavour, pairing perfectly with this Mediterranean Salmon One Pan dish. It’s crisp, very refreshing, and bright.