First Courses Main Courses Desserts Christmas Baking Veg and Veggie

Crusted Salmon with Samphire & Preserved Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

  • 25g (1oz) semolina
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 4 × 125g (4½oz) salmon fillets, skinned
  • A large knob of soft butter, plus extra for greasing
  • Small bunch of parsley, stalks removed and reserved
  • 175g (6oz) samphire
  • ½ lemon, cut into 4 wedges, to serve


LEMON SAUCE

  • 1 large or 2 small preserved lemons, quartered and pips removed
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 200g (7oz) full fat crème fraîche

Crusted Salmon with Samphire & Preserved Lemon Sauce

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.


INSTRUCTIONS

SERVES 4

  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 2 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.


MARY'S TIPS

  • Salmon can be prepared with crust on top up to 4 hours ahead. Sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead.
  • Not for freezing.

This recipe is taken from: Love to Cook