I ate a version of this at Gjusta, AKA my California canteen and fell immediately in love with the delicacy of the almost steamed flesh underneath the dill blanket. Once home I unsuccessfully trawled the internet for a recipe, forced to recreate it from memory. After a few attempts in overcomplicating what is really incredibly simple, I landed here, with a version that I am more than happy to eat week in week out forever.
Unlike other of my whole fish recipes, this cooks low and slow, ensuring the dill crust doesn’t burn, but melts into the salmon flesh on top of the whoegrain mustard crust that adds a little punch to the party. The perfect summer main course solution, always make more than you need because the leftovers make a delicious sandwich with a hefty lick of mayo and some crisp lettuce or flaked into a salad.
Dilled Salmon
- 1 side salmon (approx 800g) with skin
- 1 tbsp olive oil (or butter if you prefer)
- 1 lemon
- 1 large bunch dill
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- salt
- pepper
Preheat your oven to 170C
Remove your fish from the fridge an hour before cooking
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Zest the lemon, reserving the zest for the topping and slice the remaining lemon into fairly thin slices. Lay them on the baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and lay the whole fillet of fish over the lemon, skin side down.
Season the top with salt and a few grinds of pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Finely chop the bunch of dill and stir through the lemon zest.
Schmear the wholegrain mustard over the flesh of the fish, top with the chopped dill and lemon zest and press firmly to form a crust.
Roast for 20 minutes until only just cooked in the middle and still juicy.
Serve with lemon slices and a little aioli.
Have you made this dish?
Let me know what you think, share your efforts and any tweaks you made to the recipe on Instagram, don’t forget to tag #BuildingFeasts or email me on info@buildingfeasts.com
