Baked Salmon with

Citrus and herbs  

 
 
 
 

This week on Dak and Ju, we made an Alison Roman salmon recipe from her book, Dining In. Though she has a few winners in this category, we opted for her slow-roasted citrus salmon with herb salad. It feels somewhat contradictory that this impossibly bright citrus could be at its peak in a season like winter, but we’ll take it!

Our preference for cooking salmon is to keep it simple. Sometimes we even just do olive oil, salt and pepper. We like this variation because it’s still straightforward, letting the fatty fish shine, but it’s as visually appealing as it is tasty. The recommendation for using a bunch of olive oil and cooking it low and slow in the oven makes it hard to overcook. While Alison does this with one big fat filet, we bought pre-portioned pieces. Whichever way you go, just make sure you’re watching it cook because this will make the cook time vary tremendously.

It’s also so simple (and flexible), that we use the flavors and cooking method as guidance and take some liberties.

We decided not to use the fresh oregano or marjoram that she recommends because we didn’t want to spend the money, but we instead prioritized getting fresh tarragon, parsley, basil and mint. You could use any of your favorites: just make sure there is a variety!

We also didn’t use the herbs to make a salad. To be honest, we just got too excited and drizzled the lemon juice on top of a pile of herbs, directly on the fish. Whatever!

To know baked salmon is cooked, wait until the edges are becoming opaque. The center should feel somewhat firm to touch but not be hard. Also remember that the salmon will continue to cook in the pan, especially if you let it sit there in the hot oil. It’s amazing how much it continued to firm up just in the amount of time it took for Dak to chatter on about it. If you have a bunch of leftover oil in the pan, you could drizzle it over rice or save it to toss with pasta.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 1.5 lb salmon filet (skinless)

  • 2 lemons (meyer or regular), thinly slice and seeds removed

  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

  • 1 blood orange, cara cara orange or regular orange, thinly sliced and seeds removed

  • 6 sprigs rosemary, thyme or marjoram (optional)

  • 1 1/2 cups olive oil

  • 3/4 - 1 cup fresh herbs (like parsley, dill, tarragon, mint, basil or cilantro)

  • Kosher salt

  • Freshly cracked black pepper

 

Instructions

  1. Heat over to 300 degrees. While oven is preheating, unpack the salmon: if the skin is still on, gently pull the skin off (or don’t!). If removing the skin begins to tear away too much of the fleshy fish part, skip this step. Liberally salt and pepper the filet on both sides.

  2. Thinly slice your citrus (lemons and orange), removing all of the seeds. It is essential to remove the seeds or else they will make your entire dish taste bitter!

  3. If using rosemary, thyme or marjoram, remove remove leaves from their woody stem and finely chop.

  4. In a baking dish, 3/4 of your citrus slices on the bottom, making a citrusy bed for your salmon. Lay your filet on top of the citrus - if you haven’t seasoned your filet with salt and pepper already, do so here. Sprinkle chopped rosemary, thyme or marjoram if using.

  5. Tuck the remaining citrus slices on top of the salmon, drizzle the olive oil all over the salmon, and citrus. This seems like an exorbitant amount of olive oil but you are essentially poaching the salmon in the oil, so it’s what helps the fish cook evenly, maintain moisture and gives it amazing flavor.

  6. Place baking dish in the middle of the oven for about 25-35 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillet. The goal here is to remove the salmon from the oven when it just starts to look cooked around the edges and there isn’t too much of the white fat covering it. Remember that it will continue to cook in the hot oil and pan even after you’ve removed it from the oven! If you’re worried, you can start checking for doneness around 20 minutes, especially if you have a thinner filet or are using less salmon. Once removed from the oven, drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp of lemon juice.

  7. Plate salmon and top generously with fresh herbs.

    Serves 4-6