The weather here in Brisbane is warming up nicely, the garden has had a little reno, and the pool water is glistening! That means a couple things - it's rose wine weather, and lighter, fresher and healthier dishes are hitting the table as I try to maintain my "so-called" Dad bod! With that being said, my simple baked salmon with a delicious maple chilli dressing and fennel salad is one not to be missed!
Why I Love This Recipe
- simplicity
- healthy
- feeds a crowd
- tasty AF
- can be made in advance
If this little list above doesn't make you want to make my baked salmon dish, then I'm not sure what will. From start to finish, this dish takes at most 30 minutes to make. You can use a whole side of salmon, half a side or even fillets so it can feed 2 to 8 people. Heck, why not pop 2 sides in and have all the neighbours over 😉
If you are one of those people that get nervous cooking in front of people, then you can also serve this baked and glazed salmon dish cold!
The Glaze!
This is probably the most difficult part here. Now, when I say difficult, I'm talking maybe a 2/10 for difficulty! Grab yourself the ingredients.......
- butter
- chilli
- maple syrup
- lime
- ginger
- garlic
All you need to do is slice/grate the chilli, garlic & ginger finely and mix them together with the lime juice & maple syrup. I mean, this is skill level .5 at the moment!
Here is where it requires the tiniest bit of cooking skill. Brown butter! Brown what you say. Well, it's actually pretty darn simple to make (see below). Once you have made your butter, then combine it with the chilli mixture, and you are on your way to making the most epic maple-glazed baked salmon.
How To Make Brown Butter
To make brown butter, place the butter (75g for this baked salmon recipe) in a cold pan on low heat. As it melts and heat, swirl the butter gently around the saucepan. The butter will start to foam slightly and turn brown with an epically good nutty aroma coming off of it. As the foam subsidies, you will be left with beautiful brown butter in your pan. Remove from the heat, and your job is done!
The best advice I can give is to keep an eye on the butter. It can go from sexy brown butter to burnt butter in an instant!
Baked Salmon
Right, well, the hard part is over with the "fancy" brown butter glaze so all you need to do is cook your beautiful piece of salmon. My advice when it comes to this is.......
- fresh not frozen
- ask your fishmonger to remove all bones
- skin on salmon
- line your baking tray
- cook at a low heat - 150-170c
Start by placing the salmon skin side down on a lined baking tray. Glaze the salmon with your sexy brown butter glaze. Oh, sorry, I totally forgot - pour yourself a glass of Fontenille rose 😉 Then place the salmon into the oven at around 150-170c. The reason for the lower temp is that the salmon cooks slowly, which means less albumin is released.
Albu-what you say? You know, the white stuff you sometimes see when you cook salmon. There is nothing wrong with it, but if you are trying to impress, it can sometimes be a little off-putting.
Simple Fennel Apple Salad
So, you have a beautiful piece of baked salmon and a cracking glass of rose, and now you are wondering what to have with the salmon. For me, there are only 2 things that I want.
- A crusty piece of bread
- A simple apple fennel salad for freshness and added texture.
To make this, all you need is fennel (and fronds), a green apple, lemon juice, olive oil and parsley. Grab a mandoline and slice the fennel/apple nice and thinly. Toss them together with the fronds, parsley and a little dressing (lemon juice, salt & oil) and job done!
What more could you want?
Makers Vine & Fontenille Rose
If you read my delicious slow-cooked beef ribs, you may remember me talking about Makers Vine. They specialise in small-batch, family-owned wineries from Australia and throughout the world. Anthony, the owner isn't just about sourcing quality wine (which is pretty damn important); he is about the service too. He doesn't just want to sell you wine; he wants you to have an experience with wine. Their website is full of useful information; they offer little tasting cards with the wine and have (luckily for me) gone down the route of helping you know what to eat with the wine too 😉
Alternative Salmon Recipes
So, you have gotten stuck into my delicious and simple baked salmon recipe and are keen to introduce more salmon to your diet......... Check out these cracking recipes below
Moroccan Salmon, Baba Ghanoush & Cous Cous
Pan-Fried Salmon w/ Nam Prik Dressing
Happy Cooking & Happy Eating Friends!!
Ingredients
- 800g -1 kg side of salmon skin on
Butter Glaze
- 75 g butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 thumbsized piece ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 red chilli
- 1 tbsp lime
Fennel Salad
- 1 fennel & fronds
- 1 green apple
- 1 handful parsley leaves
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- salt & pepper
Essential Tools
- Chef Knives
- Chopping board
- baking tray
- thermometer
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Instructions
Salmon
- Mince garlic & chilli, grate ginger and combine with maple syrup & lime juice
- Heat the butter on low-medium heat until browned. Swirl the butter a couple times during the process. The butter will get very foamy and then start to brown. Be careful as it will go from brown to burnt very quickly
- Remove from the heat and stir in remaining ingredients
- Place the salmon on a lined baking tray and brush ½ the mixture onto the salmon and cook @ 170c for 10 minutes (prepare salad)
- Add the remaining glaze and cook for a further 7-10 minutes or until internal temperature is 48-50c
- Rest for 3-5 minutes before serving
Fennel Salad
- Slice the fennel finely using a mandoline
- Slice the apple finely using a mandoline
- Combine the salad dressing ingredients together
- Add parsley and fennel fronds to apple/fennel mix and toss in salad dressing
Notes
Tips/Tricks
- keep an eye on the butter as it will burn quickly
- you can use this recipe for individual salmon pieces too
- using a thermometer takes out all the guess work
- ALWAYS let your meat/fish rest prior to serving
oh so many good flavours here Gavin. I love baked salmon, and the salad sounds tasty. And i love maple syrup! who doesn't ? :=)
Thanks Sherry - I hope you enjoy it!
This looks wonderful! I love the ingredients.