Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus Salsa
Really slow roasted salmon with lots of lemons, oranges, red onions and herbs – it’s such a winner and a recipe that you will cook over and over again.
It’s zesty, garlicy and I love the nutty and herb salsa!
A good Salsa for Everything!
IS such a good ‘pick me up’ salsa to add to everything! To a bowl add:
- zest & juice of 1 lemon and orange
- 1/4 chopped herbs (either/ or tarragon, dill, coriander, parsley)
- teaspoon of Spanish smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts
Add enough extra virgin olive oil to make a scoop-able paste and season with more citrus juice, salt and pepper.
Mix & Match
This is the type of ‘use what you have’ recipe that I love. MIX IT UP, use any nut for the salsa, change the herbs (tarragon would work well too!), swop the citrus (blood oranges and limes!! YES oh YES) etc.
A Note on Cooking Salmon
Slow roasting calls for a medium heat oven, my top tip would be to invest in a very inexpensive oven thermometer – it really takes the guessing out of cooking as most ovens are rarely 100% temperature accurate.
White flecks on the salmon is a clear indication that the fish is cooked through and moving towards being overcooked. Meaning, if you like your salmon pink inside, try to avoid white flecks by reducing the cooking time to 15 minutes.
A Note on Sourcing salmon
Although I would love to eat wild (mostly Alaskan) salmon, the reality is that 90% of salmon we eat, is farmed. I have issues with farmed fish, but I do see the health benefits of eating oily fish and try to source alternatives where I can. However, in South Africa we don’t have much oily fish in our waters, so I decided to limit how often I eat salmon rather than cutting it out all together.
More Sustainable Alternatives
A good alternative would be trout (wild) or if in South Africa – you can try to source from Two Dam Sustainable Trout Farm in Franchoek or Lunsklip Farm in Dullstroom (stocked by Babylonstoren).
The topping will also be great on mackerel which you can quickly grill in a pan or over some beautiful hot coals!
Let me know if you can think of any other oily fish that could benefit from this recipe.
Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 salmon fillets, about 500g
- 2 organic lemons, zested and juiced
- 2 small oranges, zested and juiced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small red onion (or 1/2 if large), thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander, leaves only, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp dill, leaves only, roughly torn
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds, toasted (pine nuts or any nut, chopped)
- flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140℃
- In a small bowl combine HALF the lemon & orange zest and juice with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the red onions and garlic and stir well.
- Line a baking dish with baking paper and add the salmon, add the orange & onion mix over the fillets and season well with flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Add the fish to the preheated oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.
- While the fish is roasting add the remaining citrus to a small bowl along with the paprika and the herbs and add enough olive oil to make a rough (scoop able) topping for the fish.
- Start checking the fish after the 20 minutes, the fish should be flaky and cooked through. If it's not - add back and roast in 5 minutes intervals. White flecks on the salmon is a clear indication that the fish is cooked through. TIP: If you like your salmon pink inside - avoid white flecks.
- Remove the fish from the oven and top and cover with the beautiful nutty herbed sauce. Serve with sliced lemon on the side. Enjoy!