I went off travelling for a month, leaving the Chief Taster to fend for himself. He’s a dab hand at pasta… rice… gravy…I felt confident.
On my return I found our daughter had been there for a few days and, much to his relief, had taken on the mantle of chef. She’d cooked some salmon which had been a great success, and he was keen to try it again.
It was, indeed, splendid. I made only one tweak – I added some black olives. If you are using black olives preserved in olive oil, then use some of the olive oil to top up the sesame oil.
The dish needs lemon. A really good accompaniment is crushed, lemony, potatoes which add the lemon and also soak up the juices. Rather surprisingly, this also goes very well with rösti. A crisp green salad or some green beans would complete the meal.
Here’s what to do:
Salty, spicy, sweet salmon on a bed of tasty tomatoes
Serves – 2
Ingredients
- 300g/10 oz baby plum tomatoes
- 400g/14 oz skinned salmon fillets
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbs thick, rich, soy sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee premium)
- 1 tbsp thick, rich, balsamic vinegar (I use Belazu)
- 2 teaspoons chilli oil – you can very easily make your own; but it’s available in supermarkets too
- 1 tbsp honey
- Salt and pepper
- 12, approximately, pitted black olives
- Small handful of parsley
- Half a lemon (cut into wedges), if you are not serving with crushed, lemony potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 210°
- Use a little of the sesame oil to oil a roasting tin, or a ceramic oven-proof dish, lined with foil.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and put into the roasting tin. Add the olives.
- Mix (I use a cappuccino whisk) the remaining sesame oil, the soy sauce, the balsamic vinegar, the chilli oil, the honey and the salt and pepper in a bowl. Add most of the dressing to the tomatoes and olives and mix well. Place the fillets on top and drizzle the remaining sauce over the fillets. If you have time, leave for half an hour or so.
- Roast for 25 minutes. Remove, snip over some parsley, muddle in. Ensure everything is still covered in sauce. Return to the oven for another five minutes.
- Serve, with the remaining parsley snipped over, and with the lemon wedges.