SALT-CRUSTED SALMON WITH BROWN BUTTER VINAIGRETTE

Baking salmon in a salt crust insulates the fish so it cooks evenly and delicately. The result is an incredibly moist fillet, gently perfumed with lemon and dill. The real hero is the Brown Butter Vinaigrette, which adds richness, acidity and nuttiness that pair beautifully with salmon.

2 centre-cut salmon fillets, each 1 ⁄ lbs (680 g), even in size ⁄ tsp (2 mL) freshly ground pepper

⁄ lemon, thinly sliced

1 cup (250 mL) dill fronds, divided 3 ⁄ cups (875 mL) coarse salt ⁄ cup (80 mL) all-purpose flour

⁄ cup (60 mL) cornstarch 2 egg whites

⁄ cup (125 mL) water Brown Butter Vinaigrette (recipe on page 250)

1 Preheat oven to 400 F (204 C).

2 Pat salmon dry with paper towel. Season flesh sides with pepper. Arrange lemon slices on flesh side of 1 salmon fillet. Place ⁄ cup

(125 mL) dill on top of lemon slices, then place other fillet on top, flesh-side down. Using butcher’s twine, secure fillets together.

3 Mix salt, flour and cornstarch in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites and water until mixture has texture of wet sand.

4 Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour one-third of salt mixture onto parchment and arrange into size and shape of fish fillets.

5 Lay fish on top of salt. Cover fish with remaining salt mixture, packing it securely so that no fish is peeking through.

6 Bake until fish is cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and rest 2 minutes.

7 Break open salt crust and gently remove salmon. Untie, carefully separate fillets, and discard dill and lemon.

8 Lay fillets, flesh side up, on a serving dish. Pour Brown Butter Vinaigrette over salmon. Garnish with remaining dill.

Serves 6 to 8