Melting Salmon In Fragrant Salt, Tarator Style

Ingredients

• 1 side salmon (about 1.4kg), skinless, pin-boned, at room temperature
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
  

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Fragrant salt

• 2 tbsp sea salt flakes
• ½ tsp each cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, fennel
  seeds and nigella seeds, finely ground
• ½ tsp sesame seeds, toasted
  

Tarator crust

• 100 gm walnuts
• 2 small Spanish onions, very finely diced
• 1 cup (firmly packed) coriander, shredded
• ½ cup (firmly packed) mint, shredded
• 1 long red chilli, seeds removed, very finely chopped
• 3 tsp sumac
  

Tahini sauce

• 100 gm thick plain yoghurt
• 30 gm unhulled tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed with ½ tsp sea salt

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Directions

1. For fragrant salt, dry-roast ingredients in a frying pan over medium heat,
   stirring occasionally, until fragrant (1-2 minutes), then cool. Fragrant salt will
   keep stored in an airtight container for 6 months.

2. Trim tail ends of salmon, then trim belly by 1.5cm to form an even rectangle.
   Place on an oven tray, season both sides generously with fragrant salt, cover
   with plastic wrap and refrigerate to marinate (1 hour).

3. Meanwhile, for tarator crust, preheat oven to 200C. Spread walnuts on an
   oven tray and roast, stirring occasionally, until golden (4-5 minutes), finely
   chop, combine in a bowl with remaining ingredients and refrigerate.

4. Meanwhile, for tahini sauce, combine yoghurt and tahini in a bowl, stir in
   lemon juice and garlic mixture, season to taste and refrigerate until required.

5. Reduce oven to 80C fan-forced or lowest possible setting. Rinse salmon
   under cold running water, pat dry with absorbent paper, cut into 8 even portions,
   then brush all over with 30ml olive oil. Wrap each portion in baking paper to
   form a parcel, place skin-side down on an oven tray and bake for 12 minutes.
   Open parcel, carefully turn salmon, reseal parcel and bake for another 12
   minutes. Rest for 10 minutes, unwrap salmon, then gently scrape away grey
   bloodline with a knife. Brush both sides of salmon portions thickly with tahini
   sauce, press one side into tarator crust and transfer to a platter. Combine
   lemon juice with remaining oil in a bowl and season to taste, then drizzle over
   salmon and serve.

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This Recipe Is Published [Here] ( )

bon appetit