Salt Baked Salmon with Pine Nut Tarator

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This recipe pre-dates my 5 Ingredients philosophy.

Salt Baked Salmon with Pine Nut Tarator

From Stonesoup

While it is a bit of effort to mix up your dough, the results are well worth it. Super moist meat or fish that has been delicately seasoned by the saline dough, pretty hard to beat especially when you tie it in with the spectacle of unwrapping your dough parcel at the table.

If I were going to be having Christmas any where near a good fish market then I’d be pretty tempted to ditch the turkey and serve up Sammy the salmon as my center piece. As always I’ll be hanging out at the farm so it’s going to be a goose Christmas for us but I urge you to give salt baking a try.

With the salt you want something that will readily meld into the dough so avoid chunky rock salt and rest assured that there’s no need to break the bank and use your Maldon sea salt. Regular table salt will work just fine.

Serves 8-10
1 x 3.0 – 3.5 kg salmon
1 bulb baby fennel, finely sliced leafy tops reserved
1 lemon sliced
1.5kg plain flour
1.5kg salt
3 1/2C (875mL) water
for the tarator:
200g pinenuts
1 large clove garlic
1T red wine vinegar
juice 1 lemon
3T extra virgin olive oil
approx 1/2C (125mL) water
small pinch ground allspice

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Combine flour and salt in a very large bowl. Make a well in the center and add water. Stir to combine then knead to bring together until you have a soft dough, adding extra water if required. Turn out onto a well floured workspace and roll out into a sheet large enough to encase the salmon, approx 5mm thick. Slide a baking tray under the dough.

2. Place salmon in the center of the dough mainly on top of the baking tray and stuff the cavity with fennel & lemon. Wrap salmon snugly in its dough blanket, patching any holes and discarding any extra dough.

3. Bake the salmon (if your oven is as small as mine you’ll need to curl the tail up to get it to fit) for 45-55 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden. Allow to rest for a least 30mins.

4. Meanwhile for the sauce combine all ingredients in a food processor and whiz until smooth. Gradually add water until you have a good saucey consistency, you may not need all the water. Season well and refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. After the salmon has rested cut around the circumference (I didn’t think I was ever going to use that word after school) of the dough a couple of centimeters above the tray to create a base and a ‘lid’. Place salmon in the middle of the table and lift the ‘lid’, discarding any random bits of dough and remembering to warn your guests that the dough is super salty and tastes nowhere near as good as it looks.

6. Divide salmon between your guest’s plates using a knife and an egg lift and pass tarator and salad separately.