This dish can be cooked on the barbecue or grill or in a pan on top of the stove and finished in the oven.
Grilled salmon with seed and almond salsa
4 portions fresh salmon fillet
For the marinade
½ clove garlic, crushed
3 slices jalapeno chilli or to taste
½ cup coriander, chopped
¼ cup basil, chopped
¼ cup mint, chopped
zest and juice of one lime
2 Tbsp light olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
salt (add just before grilling, not to the marinade)
For the seed mix
1½ cups sliced almonds, skin on
¾ cup pumpkin seeds
¾ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup sesame seeds
¼ tsp salt
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the salsa
½ red onion, sliced
sea salt to taste
2 Tbsp capers, rinsed
1 cup flat leaf parsley
½ cup toasted seed mix (above)
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
1) Crush the garlic and chop finely with chilli and herbs .
2) Put the herb mix in a bowl and finely grate the lime zest over. Press and roll the lime on the board to soften, cut in half and squeeze the juice into the marinade. Add the oil and pepper, and stir well. (Don't add the salt at this stage as it will draw the moisture out of the salmon).
Put the fillets, flesh side up, in a dish. Spoon the marinade generously over the fish, cover and put in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
To toast the seeds
1) Mix the nuts and seeds, pour the oil over and toss together with your fingers until all the seeds are coated with the oil.
2) Spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper and put in the oven preheated to 160degC for 20-30 minutes, stirring and turning every 10 minutes.
3) It's better to toast the seeds for a longer time at a lower heat than a shorter time at a higher temperature, which risks burning them.
When toasted, set aside to cool. It's worth making more of the toasted nut mix than you need as it keeps well in an airtight container and can be sprinkled over salads for extra texture.
Make the salsa before cooking the salmon.
Slice the red onion thinly and put in a bowl. Chop the parsley leaves and capers and add to the onion.
4) Stir in ½ a cup of the toasted seed mix, season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle over the oil and vinegar. Toss. This proportion, 2 oil : 1 vinegar is the proportion used in a vinaigrette.
To cook the salmon
1) Carefully lift the salmon fillets, skin side down, into a frying pan or grill pan, or on to the hot plate of the barbecue. There should be enough oil in the marinade to stop it sticking. Salt lightly.
2) Put under a hot grill and cook five minutes. Turn the fillets carefully so the skin side is up and cook another five minutes to crisp the skin.
3) Finish in an oven preheated to 160degC for 5-10 minutes. Do not overcook. The salmon should be moist and still orangey pink inside.
Arrange some salad leaves on a plate and top with some of the seed salsa. Serve the salmon fillets skin side up. The skin should be crisp but if people don't like it they can remove it easily.
• If you would like to request a particular technique we haven't already shown, please let us know. Write to Cooking 101, Editorial Features, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 181, Dunedin or email odt.features@odt.co.nz with cooking 101 in the subject line. To check earlier Cooking 101 columns visit: www.odt.co.nz and search for ''cooking 101''.
More information on cooking from Otago Polytechnic can be found on www.otagocookeryl4.blogspot.com
