Salmon ticks so many boxes when you’re too tired to cook. It’s delicious, healthy, and quick cooking, making it an all around winner. Whether it’s pan-fried or baked, you’ll have an impressive looking dinner on the table in about 15 minutes.
The only problem is that salmon has a tendency to dry out. It can be quite a challenge to get a good crust on your fillet while keeping the inside juicy. One method of pulling it off successfully comes by way of Mary Berry. The culinary icon’s salmon recipe for crusted salmon is coated in crunchy semolina and popped in the oven until crisp and golden.
The recipe comes from Mary’s cookbook, Love to Cook. She writes: “The semolina on top of the salmon gives a lovely crust and the paprika adds to the flavour and colour. Samphire is a lovely, salty, green plant that grows naturally by the marshes and on the coast.”
Crusted salmon with samphire and preserved lemon sauce
Ingredients
25g (1oz) semolinaOne tsp paprikaFour × 125g (4½oz) salmon fillets, skinnedA large knob of soft butter, plus extra for greasingSmall bunch of parsley, stalks removed and reserved175g (6oz) samphire½ lemon, cut into four wedges, to serveLemon SauceOne large or two small preserved lemons, quartered and pips removedJuice of ½ lemonThree tbsp mayonnaise200g (7oz) full fat crème fraîche
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and butter a baking sheet.
2. Sprinkle the semolina and paprika on to a large plate and season with salt and black pepper. Spread the top of each salmon fillet with the butter and press the fillets, buttered side down, on to the semolina to give an even crust.
3. Lay the parsley stalks on the baking sheet and sit the salmon fillets on top of the stalks. Bake in the oven for 15–18 minutes, until the salmon is just opaque and the top is crisp and golden. If liquid is beginning to seep out of the salmon, it is overcooked – it should be holding the juices.
4. To make the sauce, gather up the parsley leaves and place in a food processor. Add the preserved lemon(s) and whiz until finely chopped. Add the lemon juice, mayonnaise and crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper – go easy on the salt as the lemons are preserved in brine. Process until finely chopped.
5. When you are ready to serve, boil the samphire in salted water for two minutes, then drain, and heat the sauce gently until just melted.
6. Arrange the hot salmon fillets on a plate with the samphire, sauce and a lemon wedge alongside.
