Baked Whole Salmon Fillet with Tarragon & Lime
category
Main Course
servings
4 -5
Such an easy way of cooking salmon and lovely to put in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves. This recipe produces juicy succulent salmon and is easily upped for more people - just buy a larger fillet and extend the cooking time by a few minutes. Salmon is filling so you need less than you might think.
Served lukewarm or at room temperature with mayonnaise and new ptatoes, this makes a deliious summer recipe too.
ingredients
- olive oil, for drizzling
- 650g salmon fillet in one piece, skin on or off
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- a few dried chilli flakes (optional)
-
4 teaspoons small capers in brine, drained
- juice of 1 lime
- 40g butter, for dotting
- a small handful of parsley, leaves roughly chopped
directions
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Line a small, shallow roasting tin slightly bigger than the piece of salmon with baking parchment, allowing enough to reach up the sides (scrunching up and then opening out the paper first makes this much easier). Grease the middle section with a splash of olive oil.
Put the salmon into the tin, drizzle with a little olive oil and scatter with some salt and pepper, the tarragon, chilli flakes (if using) and capers. Pour over the lime juice, dot the butter all over the salmon and then scatter with the parsley.
Bake for 10–12 minutes until the salmon is slightly undercooked in the very middle. It will continue cooking when removed from the oven. Immediately slide the fish, on its baking parchment, onto a serving plate or board and keep somewhere warm to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Up to 30 minutes or so resting is fine. Ensure everyone gets some of the delicious buttery juices when serving themselves.
Recipe Note
Hints & Tips
The salmon can be served hot or cold. If serving cold, drizzle with olive oil in place of dotting with the butter before cooking. The butter will set hard when cold and be unpalatable, whereas olive oil will produce a tasty dressing-style sauce with the lime juice, capers and salmon juices.
Accompaniments are endless and include; boiled new or creamy mashed potatoes, cooked noodles, rice or ozo; lightly cooked green vegetables, such as pak choi, spincah, tenderstem broccoli, French beans; green and other salads; mayonnaise, flavoured mayonnaise (such as watercress), foaming hollandaise sauce, salsa verde.