Salmon baked or roasted in the oven produces a moist, flaky fillet of deliciousness. And unlike fried or even grilled fish, baking doesn’t only taste better, it’s better for you too.
Baked salmon allows the fish to cook in its own juices, preserving all its naturally high levels of protein and omega 3 fatty acids. Salmon is also one of the best sources of vitamin B12, bursting in potassium and other nutrients like iron and vitamin D.
In more good news, baking salmon doesn’t take much time or prepare or cook, and always makes for a stunning presentation on the table.
It’s one of the quickest midweek meals for family and friends, with a simple side salad or vegetables such as broccolini in a lemon butter, accompanied by asparagus spears, some noodles, or savoury rice with dill and lemon crème fraîche.
Another built-in benefit of making baked salmon is that you can add your vegetables to the same roasting pan and you only have one dish to wash up. Easy peasy.
Tender Baked Salmon
Ingredients
For the Salmon
- 1 kg side of salmon skin on and pin boned
- 2 small fennel bulbs thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
- 1½ tbsp dill finely chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and ground black pepper according to taste
- 50 g salmon caviar optional
- 1 tsp each parsley and dill for serving finely chopped
For the Dill and Lemon Crème Fraîche
- 200 g crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2½ tbsp dill finely chopped
- 2 tsp lemon zest finely grated
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Salmon
- ppreheat the oven to 180 °C
- Line a large roasting dish with tin foil and top with baking paper
- Arrange the fennel on the dish and drizzle with a little oil
- Lay fish, skin side down on top of the fennel
- In a bowl, combine the dill, garlic,oil and lemon juice and season well
- Spoon this mixture evenly over the salmon
- Roast for 20 minutes for rare or 25 minutes for just cooked through
- Remove from the oven
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes
- to serve sprinkle with the dill and parsley mix
For the Dill and Lemon Crème Fraîche
- In a bowl combine all the ingredients
- Season well
- Cover and chill until ready to serve
Notes
If you own any other roasting pans, now's the time to send them off to a new home. The Scanpan Classic pan is a miracle worker, able to withstand thousands of bakes, roasts and braises.
Made to Danish professional cooking standards, this pan is constructed with seriously thick pressure-cast aluminium and a ceramic-titanium nonstick finish, creating a beast of a pan that's strong, safe and durable.
