Boursin Topped Baked Salmon (Printable Version)
Salmon fillets baked with creamy Boursin cheese, fresh herbs and lemon zest for an elegant French-inspired meal.
# Ingredient List:
→ Fish
01 - 4 salmon fillets (about 5 oz each), skinless
02 - 1 tbsp olive oil
03 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Topping
04 - 3.5 oz Boursin cheese (garlic & fine herbs flavor)
05 - 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
06 - 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
07 - Zest of 1 lemon
→ To Serve
08 - Lemon wedges
# How to Make:
01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
02 - Pat the salmon fillets dry with paper towels and arrange them on the prepared tray, presentation-side up. Brush each fillet lightly with olive oil and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
03 - In a small mixing bowl, combine the Boursin cheese with the chopped chives, dill, and lemon zest. Stir until the mixture is smooth and evenly blended.
04 - Spread the Boursin mixture generously and evenly over the top of each salmon fillet, covering the entire surface.
05 - Bake on the center rack for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork and the topping turns lightly golden.
06 - Transfer to warm plates and serve immediately with fresh lemon wedges alongside steamed vegetables or rice.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The Boursin melts into a golden herb flecked crust that makes people think you spent hours when you barely lifted a knife.
- It is genuinely a thirty minute meal from fridge to plate, which means it rescues even the most chaotic Tuesday evenings.
- Serving this to guests guarantees empty plates and follow up texts asking for the recipe by the next morning.
02 -
- Overbaking is the single biggest threat to this dish: salmon goes from silky to chalky in a matter of two minutes, so start checking at the fifteen minute mark and trust your fork over the timer.
- If your Boursin is cold from the fridge it will tear the surface of the fish when you try to spread it, so always let it soften first or microwave it for ten seconds.
03 -
- Take the salmon out of the fridge fifteen minutes before baking so it cooks evenly from edge to center instead of being cold in the middle when the top is already golden.
- If you want a slightly more dramatic crust, pop the fillets under the broiler for the final sixty seconds, watching constantly so the herbs do not burn.