This salmon Crudo, delicately sliced and adorned with a silky Avocado Crema, is an exquisite celebration of the sea. The fresh, succulent raw salmon melds seamlessly with the creamy, tangy avocado crema, creating a symphony of textures and flavors.

It’s one of my all-time favorite lazy meals, as it takes very little effort and time to whip up. It’s also extremely tasty and healthy – doesn’t get much better than that.

How to Make the Perfect Salmon Crudo

Making the perfect salmon crudo can be a bit complicated, and hinges on a few key elements:

Quality of Salmon: You want the most impeccably fresh, high-quality salmon that you can find. Look for sushi-grade or sashimi-grade salmon, as not all store bought salmon is safe to consume when raw.

The fish should have a vibrant color, firm texture, and a clean aroma. Your salmon should not smell fishy – no fresh fish should, as this is associated with the breakdown of a compound called trimethylamine (TMA), which is released when fish start to spoil.

Precise Slicing: Precise slicing makes a huge difference in how your salmon crudo will turn out. Cutting the salmon thinly and uniformly enhances both the texture and presentation. A sharp knife and a steady hand are essential, but mostly a sharp knife.

Quality Olive Oil: As there is quite a lot of it in this recipe, a top-quality extra virgin olive oil will make all the difference.

Temperature Awareness: I’m a firm believer that salmon crudo should always be served chilled. Maintaining the right temperature ensures the fish stays fresh and the flavors are at their peak.

How to Cut Salmon (The Right Way)

Cutting salmon against the grain is important for two main reasons: texture and tenderness. The muscle fibers in salmon run lengthwise along the fillet, and cutting against the grain helps shorten these fibers, resulting in a more tender and enjoyable bite. Here’s how to cut salmon against the grain:

1. Identify the Grain: Examine the salmon fillet to determine the direction of the muscle fibers or grain. They are the white lines that run along the length of the fillet.
2. Position the Fillet: Place the salmon fillet on a clean cutting board with the grain lines running from left to right (aka horizontal to you).
3. Angle the Knife: Hold your knife at a slight angle (roughly 45 degrees) to the cutting board. This angle helps create wider, more visually appealing slices.
4. Slice Across the Grain: Make smooth, even slices across the grain of the salmon. In other words, cut perpendicular to the lines or fibers.

This technique is especially crucial when preparing dishes like salmon crudo, where the focus is on the delicate and raw nature of the fish. Tender raw fish is better than chewy raw fish, afterall.

Ingredients

Here are some of the key ingredients you need for this recipe.

• Salmon: As I mentioned above, you want the highest-quality salmon that you can find. Look for sushi-grade or sashimi-grade salmon.

• Extra virgin olive oil: Look for first cold-pressed oils. If you have a flavored olive oil on hand, you can totally use that. For instance, garlic infused olive oil is absolutely delicious with this recipe.

• Lemon juice and lime juice: Citrus is a classic pairing with salmon crudo, and for good reason. The zing from the acid goes super well with the fatty salmon. Freshly squeezed is preferable, but if you only have the bottled stuff it’ll work just fine.

• Avocado: You’ll want half a ripe avocado for this recipe. A good tip I learned a few years ago to help tell if avocados are ripe when buying them is to remove the stem from the top of the avocado. If the flesh underneath is white, the avocado is unripe, if it is brown or black, it is over ripe, and if it is green, it’s perfect.

• Greek yogurt: I prefer full fat Greek yogurt for this recipe, but if you’re trying to limit your fat intake you can go with low-fat or non-fat.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Place the avocado, Greek yogurt, lime juice, garlic and salt in a blender, and blend until smooth. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, and then transfer to a container and set aside.

Mincing the shallot as finely as possible, and add it to a small bowl along with two tablespoons of olive oil and the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Carefully slice your salmon against the grain, perpendicular to the white lines. Slices should be around 1/4 inch thick, no thicker than 1/2 inch.

Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil on the base of your serving plate and then arrange the salmon slices on top, overlapping them slightly.

Gently pour the shallot dressing so it is around (but not on top of) the salmon pieces.

Drizzle the salmon with the avocado crema, season with flaky sea salt and pepper, and garnish with freshly chopped chives. Enjoy chilled and serve immediately.

Did you make this recipe and like it? Be sure to leave a comment below! I’d love to hear what you have to say 🙂

Salmon Crudo with Avocado Crema

This salmon crudo, delicately sliced and adorned with a silky avocado crema, is an exquisite celebration of the sea. The fresh, succulent raw salmon melds seamlessly with the creamy, tangy avocado crema, creating a symphony of textures and flavors.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

Avocado Crema

• 1/2 ripe avocado (peeled and pitted)
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (full fat is preferable)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salmon Crudo

• 1/2 pound sushi-grade salmon (skinless)
• 1 large shallot (minced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1 tablespoon chives (chopped)
• flakey sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Place the avocado, Greek yogurt, lime juice, garlic and salt in a blender.
• Blend until smooth and creamy. Season with additional salt and pepper, according to taste. Transfer to a container and set aside.
• Begin by mincing the shallot as finely as possible. Add to a small bowl along with two tablespoons olive oil and the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
• Next, carefully slice your salmon against the grain, perpendicular to the white lines. Slices should be around 1/4 inch thick, no thicker than 1/2 inch.
• Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil on the base of your serving plate and then arrange the salmon slices on top, overlapping them slightly.
• Gently pour the shallot dressing so it is around (but not on top of) the salmon pieces.
• Drizzle the salmon with the avocado crema, season with flaky sea salt and pepper, and garnish with freshly chopped chives.
• Enjoy chilled and serve immediately.