An easy salmon with lots and lots of olives
Dan Pelosi’s super simple dish anchors a colorful, cheerful dinner menu.
Cooking
October 9, 2025

Good morning! Today we have for you:

A large fillet of rosated salmon with smashed olives is shown on a platter with a serving set nearby.
Dan Pelosi’s roast salmon with smashed olives. Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

This citrusy, olive-y salmon is ready to party

By Mia Leimkuhler

When I lived in Portland, Ore., I went cherry picking in the Hood River Fruit Loop. It was the end of the season, and the orchards had a strong “everything must go” vibe. I came home with two five-gallon buckets of cherries, and, after hauling them into my second-floor walk-up, I beelined to the kitchen goods store for a cherry pitter.

I still use it for cherries, of course, but more often than not I’m using my cherry pitter for olives, specifically the meaty green (and cherry-size) Castelvetranos I love so much. It’ll very much come in handy for Dan Pelosi’s new roast salmon with smashed olives, which turns just five ingredients — olive oil, salmon, oranges, Castelvetrano olives and parsley, plus salt and pepper — into the foundation for a cheerful, jovial dinner.

Absolutely use the pitted olives Dan calls for if you can find them. For whatever reason, all the jarred olives near me have pits, so my pitter and I have a fun little bit of olive-hole-punching to do. (Pro pit tip: Put a couple of those punched-out pits, the ones with a good bit of olive meat attached, into your cocktail shaker along with ice, vodka, dry vermouth and a splash of olive brine. I call this my no-waste dirty martini, and it makes any sort of olive prep feel fancy.)

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Roast Salmon With Smashed Olives

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Make it a Pelosi party

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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Nonalcoholic Negroni

By Dan Pelosi

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83

2 1/4 hours

Makes 6 to 8 drinks

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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Roast Squash With Crispy Chickpeas and Feta

By Dan Pelosi

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21

1 hour

Makes 6 to 8 servings

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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Charred Broccoli With Anchovy Vinaigrette

By Dan Pelosi

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5

35 minutes

Makes 6 to 8 servings

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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Pignoli Cookies

By Dan Pelosi

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42

1 hour 40 minutes

Makes About 5 dozen cookies

Today’s specials

Butternut squash pasta with bacon and Parmesan: Fall in a pasta bowl. Our readers outdid themselves with excellent ideas in the comments on this five-star Yossy Arefi recipe; I’m really into the suggestions to swap in Italian sausage for the bacon, add pepitas to the warmed leftovers, and use goat cheese instead of Parm.

Chile crisp chicken cutlets: Christian Reynoso mixes chile crisp, red wine vinegar and soy sauce to make an easy-peasy, no-chop marinade for boneless, skinless chicken cutlets or breasts. He suggests serving them with wilted spinach and lemon wedges; I’m going to suggest rice (shocker) and a handful of shaggy shredded cabbage for katsu vibes.

Nashif rubian (tamarind-tomato shrimp): I love the tangy flavor of tamarind and appreciate just how much heavy lifting its concentrate does in fast weeknight dishes. This new recipe from Noor Murad is on the table in just 40 minutes and, with its richly spiced, tomatoey sauce, practically pulls on your elbow for some flatbread to swipe up every last drop.

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Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)

Butternut Squash Pasta With Bacon and Parmesan

By Yossy Arefi

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2,378

50 minutes

Makes 4 to 6 servings

An overhead image of a blue platter topped with crispy chicken cutlets surrounded by lemon wedges. A bowl with greens and a small bowl with chile crisp are just above the platter.

Matt Taylor-Gross for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Chile Crisp Chicken Cutlets

By Christian Reynoso

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800

40 minutes

Makes 4 servings

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Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.

Nashif Rubian (Tamarind-Tomato Shrimp)

By Noor Murad

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19

40 minutes

Makes 4 servings

And before you go

We have lots of Caesary things here at New York Times Cooking — pasta salad, potato salad, dip — and, as a lover of all things anchovy, I am very much on board. Andy Baraghani’s roasted cauliflower Caesar is a superb and seasonal take on the classic salad, with caramelized cauliflower florets tapping in for the romaine. Click here or on the link below to watch Andy make his salad:

A video still shows roasted cauliflower Caesar salad.
We love a seasonal Caesar. Andy Baraghani

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