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🐟 Seafood

One pan creamy lemony salmon orzo

Bright, silky, and very weeknight-friendly

⏱️ Time estimate: about 35 minutes

Bite-size salmon gets browned with paprika, garlic, thyme, and lemon, then lands on a pan of buttery orzo finished with caramelized lemon, cream, parsley, and parmesan.

Creamy lemony salmon orzo topped with browned salmon pieces and herbs

Ingredients

  • 2 salmon fillets
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or another dried herb like oregano or rosemary)
  • 1 lemon
  • 40g butter
  • 150g orzo
  • About 600ml chicken or vegetable stock, plus more if needed
  • 2 tablespoons double cream
  • Small bunch of parsley, chopped
  • Parmesan, for grating
  • Salt
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  1. Prep the salmon. Remove the skin from the salmon fillets if you want them to flake more easily into the orzo. Cut the salmon into bite-size pieces and toss in a bowl with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, dried thyme, and a good sprinkle of salt.
  2. Brown the salmon. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat with a generous squeeze of olive oil. Add the salmon pieces and cook on all sides until just cooked through and lightly charred, about 6 minutes. Squeeze in the juice from half the lemon at the end, then remove the salmon and keep it warm.
  3. Caramelize the lemon. From the remaining lemon half, cut 2 slices. Fry them in the same pan until softened and caramelized on both sides, then remove.
  4. Toast the orzo. Add the butter to the pan and let it melt. Stir in the orzo, coating it in the butter and all the browned salmon bits on the bottom of the pan.
  5. Simmer until tender. Pour in about 600ml stock, stir well, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes so nothing sticks. Add a splash more stock if the pan dries out before the orzo is fully tender.
  6. Finish the sauce. Finely chop the caramelized lemon slices. Once the orzo is cooked, stir in the chopped lemon, double cream, chopped parsley, and a generous grating of parmesan until smooth and glossy.
  7. Serve. Spoon the creamy orzo into bowls, top with the salmon pieces, and finish with more parsley if you like.

Stock note: 600ml is the suggested starting point, but the exact amount can vary. Add a little extra if the orzo drinks it up before it turns tender.