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Crispy skinned salmon with sauce vierge

Crispy-skinned salmon with sauce vierge. Photograph: Harry Weir
Crispy-skinned salmon with sauce vierge. Photograph: Harry Weir
Serves: 2
Course: Dinner
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Prep Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 salmon fillets, scaled with skin on
  • Sea salt
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1tbs capers
  • Handful fresh chives, chopped
  • Handful fresh dill, chopped
  • 4tbs olive oil
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 1tbs vegetable oil
  1. Place the salmon steaks skin side down on a tray with some kitchen paper, and sprinkle them with sea salt. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. While the salmon is in the fridge, make the sauce vierge. Quarter the tomatoes, then remove and discard the seeds before dicing the tomatoes into small cubes and placing in a bowl. Add the capers, chives, dill, olive oil, lemon juice and zest and stir together gently with a spoon. Adjust the seasoning with some sea salt.
  3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
  4. Before cooking the salmon, cut three short shallow lines along the skin to stop the skin from curling.
  5. Place an oven-proof non-stick pan on the heat and add the vegetable oil. Before the pan heats up, place the salmon in, skin side down. Apply a small amount of pressure on the salmon for one minute as the skin begins to fry. This will keep it flat.
  6. Leave the salmon on a medium heat for two minutes before transferring the pan to the oven. Don’t flip the fish. Cook for a further five minutes in the oven.
  7. Remove the pan from the oven and then flip the fish to reveal the crispy skin. Allow the salmon to rest for two minutes before serving with the sauce vierge.
Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty is an award winning chef, TV host, author and Irish Times columnist.