Baked salmon

How to make Baked salmon recipe - Salmon is delicious with flavors such as horseradish or beet, as they cut wonderfully through the richness. Serve with a spoonful of each on the side, and a watercress salad. Saumon au four recette

Serves 4, plus leftovers

Ingredients:
7–8lb (3.2–3.6kg) fresh whole salmon, gutted, scaled, and cleaned
1 stick cold butter, cut into bits
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of flat-leaf parsley sprigs, plus extra, for garnish
lemon wedges, for serving

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking tray. (You will need enough foil to enclose the fish.) Place the salmon in the middle of the foil, and scatter the butter all over the top. Season well with salt and pepper, then scatter the parsley sprigs over the fish, tucking a few inside the cavity.

2 Loosely pull together the edges of the foil to enclose salmon, and crimp together to seal. Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes, calculating the cooking time at 10 minutes per pound (450g), or just until it is opaque throughout.

3 Unwrap the foil, remove any straggly bits of parsley, and carefully transfer the salmon to a warm serving plate and garnish with fresh parsley or watercress. Pass the lemon wedges at the table for squeezing. Serve with new potatoes and salad or blanched or grilled asparagus.

Cook’s Notes:
It’s vital that the fish is 100% fresh when you buy it it should never smell ‘fishy.’ Use wild salmon for a special treat.

Baked salmon