Keto Salmon Fillet on Pumpkin Purée with Brown Sage Butter

Preparation

1. Cook the pumpkin and cauliflower

   · approx. 15 minutes

   Done	Amount	Icon	Ingredient
   Check off Hokkaido pumpkin	200  g	🎃	Hokkaido pumpkin unpeeled, cut into 2 cm cubes
   Check off cauliflower	150  g	🥦	cauliflower cut into small florets

   Put the unpeeled Hokkaido cubes (200 g) and the cauliflower florets (150 g) in a pot with 100 ml water and cook, covered, over medium heat until soft enough that a knife slides in without resistance. Drain well in a sieve.

2. Blend the purée

   · approx. 3 minutes

   Done	Amount	Icon	Ingredient
   Check off butter	60  g	🧈	butter 20 g for the purée, 40 g for the sage butter
   Check off heavy cream	50  ml	🥛	heavy cream whipping cream, 30% fat
   Check off nutmeg	1  pinch	🍽️	nutmeg freshly grated
   Check off salt	0.5  tsp	🧂	salt for the purée and the salmon skin
   Check off pepper	0.3  tsp	🧂	pepper freshly ground

   Return the vegetables to the pot and blend until very smooth with an immersion blender together with the butter (20 g), heavy cream (50 ml), nutmeg (1 pinch), salt (1/4 tsp) and pepper (1/4 tsp). Cover and keep warm.

3. Fry the salmon

   · approx. 7 minutes

   Done	Amount	Icon	Ingredient
   Check off skin-on salmon fillet	300  g	🐟	skin-on salmon fillet 2 fillets of 150 g each, pin-boned
   Check off olive oil	10  ml	🫒	olive oil approx. 2 tsp, for frying the salmon

   Pat the salmon fillets (300 g) dry with paper towels and season the skin side with salt (1/4 tsp). Heat the olive oil (10 ml) in a pan until very hot, lay the fillets in skin-side down, press lightly for 20 seconds and then fry for 5 minutes without moving until the skin is crisp. Flip and finish for 1 minute on the flesh side.

4. Brown the sage butter

   · approx. 4 minutes

   Done	Amount	Icon	Ingredient
   Check off fresh sage	5  g	🍽️	fresh sage approx. 10 leaves
   Check off capers	15  g	🫒	capers approx. 1 tbsp, drained
   Check off lemon juice	10  ml	🍋	lemon juice approx. 2 tsp, freshly squeezed

   Meanwhile, melt the butter (40 g) in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it foam until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Add the sage leaves (5 g) and fry for 30 seconds until crisp. Add the capers (15 g) and the lemon juice (10 ml) and take the pan off the heat immediately.

5. Plate

   · approx. 2 minutes

   Spoon the purée as a bed onto two warmed plates, set the salmon fillets on top skin-side up and distribute the brown butter with sage and capers over them. Serve immediately.

celebration You did it! Enjoy every delicious bite.

Why does salmon on pumpkin purée fit a keto diet?

Salmon is one of the best keto fish: a farmed fillet provides around 13 g fat and 20 g protein per 100 g with zero carbs, and a large share of that fat is long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. The challenge lies in the purée. A classic pumpkin-potato purée comes to 25 to 30 g carbs per serving. Here, half the pumpkin is replaced with cauliflower, which sits at around 2.4 g usable carbs per 100 g: 100 g Hokkaido per serving costs about 4.5 g, 75 g cauliflower about 1.8 g. Cream, capers and lemon contribute around 1.2 g, so a serving lands at about 7.5 g net carbs - acceptable for dinner, but not a figure for twice a day. The fat side, on the other hand, is generous: salmon, 60 g butter, cream and olive oil deliver 51 g fat per serving, around 75% of the calories, and 34 g protein keeps you full for a long time. The brown butter is not a luxury here but the element that keeps the dish within keto limits: it supplies fat and flavor where conventional recipes rely on a honey glaze or white wine sauce. The values for the individual ingredients can be looked up in the German Nutrient Database (BLS).

Source: Max Rubner Institute – German Nutrient Database (BLS) , FDDB Nutrition Database

How do I serve and vary the dish?

Arrange the purée as a bed on warmed plates, set the salmon on top skin-side up and pour the brown butter with sage and capers over it only at the table - that way the skin stays crisp. A few leaves of arugula or some steamed spinach go well with it. In my experience, the skin side decides everything: the salmon must be patted dry, the skin salted and laid into a truly hot pan, then fried for 5 minutes without moving until the fillet releases on its own. Flip too early and you tear the skin off. The brown butter needs attention: from the light brown, nutty-smelling stage to burnt is 30 seconds, so take the pan off the heat as soon as the butter is golden brown. In October, a fresh Hokkaido from the market is worth it; it is sweeter and firmer than stored pumpkin.

Nutrition values

Note: Nutrition values are estimated averages per 100 g and per serving and may vary depending on ingredients, brands, portion size, and preparation. They do not replace individual nutrition or medical advice.

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