Lemon sauce adds zing to crispy-skin salmon
My family has always served whole baked fillets slathered with some kind of butter sauce.
But I’m moving in a new direction: salmon fillets with crispy skin and a Greekish sauce.
The tart sauce is a snap. It’s a mix — half-yogurt and half-mayonnaise — flavoured with lemon, dill, garlic and pepperoncini.
Salmon with Crispy Skin and Pepperoncini Lemon Sauce MAKES 4 SERVINGS
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt ¼ cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons minced seeded pepperoncini 1 tbsp liquid from the pepperoncini jar 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste ½ tsp minced garlic 1½ tbsp chopped fresh dill Kosher salt and black pepper Four 6-ounce salmon fillets with the skin 1½ tbsp vegetable oil with a high smoke point
Start to finish: 40 minutes In a bowl combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, minced pepperoncini and pepperoncini liquid, lemon juice, garlic and dill; add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill.
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Pat the fish skin very dry. Scrape the skin with a large knife, at a perpendicular angle, eight to 10 times to remove any excess moisture, wiping the knife clean each time.
In a large ovenproof skillet heat the oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the salmon fillets, skin side down. Immediately press down evenly on the top of each fillet to keep the skin from buckling up.
Cook the salmon, pressing down frequently, for four minutes or until you can see that the skin is getting crispy and the flesh has lightened about one-third to one-half of the way up the side. Season the flesh with salt and pepper, transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for another four to six minutes or until the salmon is cooked to the desired degree of doneness. Transfer to plates, skin side up, and top each portion with some of the sauce.
Nutritional information: 446 calories (251 from fat); 28 grams fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 128 milligrams cholesterol; 349 mg sodium; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g fibre; 1 g sugar; 45 g protein.