Lets cook! – Roasted Salmon

This salmon dish a relative of a dish I used to have on a menu years ago. Consisting of basic ingredients kept simple to produce a fresh, healthy dish. The coriander seeds bring citrus notes to the sauce rather than fresh coriander which can be like punch to the face to some (I do like coriander, my wife does not) while the addition of vanilla is a classic and works in many savoury dishes. The skin is baked between two sheets of parchment paper and sandwiched between two trays and cooked at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes until crispy. Ask your local fishmonger to de-scale/skin your salmon portions if you’d like. Depending on the tomatoes, if you think that the sauce needs a touch of sweetness, try adding a teaspoon of mirin to balance out the acidity or if you think the tomatoes are slightly too sweet then add some rice wine vinegar.

Roasted Salmon
with salmon crackling, crispy kale, poached cherry tomatoes in a tomato, coriander and vanilla sauce

x2 Salmon portions with skin removed and set aside (approx 150g)

x1 Onion, chopped

x1 Fennel, chopped

x1 Carrot, chopped

x1 Punnet of vine cherry tomatoes (Reserve 6, cut the rest in half and reserve the vine)

x1 Garlic clove, chopped

Olive oil

125ml Dry white wine

x12 Coriander seeds

x1 Bay leaf

Vanilla pod (seeds)

Crème fraiche

For the sauce:

In a dry saucepan, toast the coriander seeds briefly, followed by a drizzle of olive oil. Add the chopped onion, carrot and fennel with a whiff of salt. Add the garlic, bay leaf, halved cherry tomatoes, vine followed by the wine and vanilla seeds and reduce by almost two thirds. Remove the vine and bay leaf and blitz the sauce until smooth. Return the pan to a low heat and finish with a couple of spoons of crème fraiche and check the seasoning.

The salmon:

In a hot pan in a little oil, place the salmon presentation side up and season. Pop the pan under a hot grill or oven, do not be tempted to turn the salmon over at this stage. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, a simple guide would be cook for about 4 minutes per 1cm of thickness.

For the crispy skin, place the skin between two sheets of parchment paper and sandwiched between two trays and cook at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes until crispy.

Meanwhile, in a hot pan, stir fry the kale until tender and crispy and season lightly. For the reserved tomatoes, have a small pan of boiling water and a bowl of ice cold water ready. Remove the cores carefully and plunge into the boiling water. This can take as little as 2-3 seconds so you must work quickly with a slotted spoon and plunge them into the icy water or you will end up with mushy overcooked cherry tomatoes where as we want to showcase these sweet little belters are one of the four main stars on this dish.

To serve, spoon the sauce on the plate of your choice. Place the crispy kale on next and place the salmon portion on top. Scatter the cherry tomatoes around the salmon, top with the crispy skin and enjoy!