Slow Salmon with Citrus and Herbs by Alison Roman

Madeline took her first bite, and the next words out of her mouth were: “This is the best salmon I’ve ever had.”

J asked for salmon for his birthday dinner. We were having our favorite couple friends in Minneapolis over to celebrate and I wanted a full Alison Roman meal, top to bottom. But salmon was not what I expected J to ask for on a cold January night. (I associate fish with warm, summer days!)

Thankfully Alison has multiple salmon recipes between her two cookbooks, and I only needed to read the introduction to this Slow Salmon with Citrus and Herbs recipe to know which one I would be making. She tells us in no uncertain terms that the common response from anyone eating this fish is “this is the best salmon I’ve ever had.” In case I needed any proof, Madeline’s first words were verbatim from the intro. So without further ado…

Buy a 1.5 lb salmon filet, preferably fresh but certainly thawed if from frozen. I primarily rely on Trader Joes and Costco to have affordable, fresh fish. The filet is laid in a deep baking dish (not a rimmed sheet pan because you’re about to let the fish dive into a legitimate swimming pool of olive oil). Cover her with plenty of salt and pepper. Then layer the top of the filet with thinly sliced citrus and sprigs of fresh herbs.

I chose sliced lemon and navel oranges. I tried to slice them between 1/8th to 1/4th inch thick, but I’ll say that the closer you can get to 1/8th, or thinner, the better. My thicker slices rose above the oil and didn’t melt into the fish the way I hoped. Next time I’ll slice my citrus even thinner. I liked the orange and lemon combo, although you can use other citrus like tangerines and blood oranges. The herbs are also flexible. I chose dill, chives and parsley.

Lots of salmon recipes use citrus and herbs, but what makes this one so special is the seemingly excessive amount of olive oil it bakes in and the low-and-slow baking method.

For years I watched my mother skimp on fattening ingredients like butter and olive oil. I spent my first years of independent cooking doing the same. She was doing her best to control cholesterol for her and my dad (important!), and that was back when fats were overemphasized as all bad. It wasn’t until I started learning about the science of cooking and following some other New York Times chefs that I became confident in using that whole stick of butter. So when Alison tells me to pour 1.5 cups of olive oil over my fish, I’ll do exactly that.

The recipe says that the dish is baked at a low temp of 300 degrees for upwards of 30 minutes, which doesn’t sound terribly slow. Perhaps it’s a difference in ovens, but my oven did not cook my salmon in the time Alison told me. I started checking it with our meat thermometer at 30 minutes, and it was still 30 degrees undercooked. I was aiming for a 135 degree internal salmon temperature. I resorted to turning up the oven to 315, then 325, and checking the oven every 7-8 minutes. By the 55 minute mark, the salmon was cooked through perfectly. Next time, I’ll start with my oven set to 310 and start checking around 40 minutes, just to meet Alison halfway.

The salmon I chose had a thicker center which means it rose slightly above the oil. While I think that is perfectly fine, I will say that that portion of the fish didn’t get as melt-in-your-mouth as the thinner parts did. So pay attention to the thickness of your cut and perhaps adjust the olive oil accordingly.

Once the fish is cooked, it’s topped with 2 whole cups of chopped herbs. Yes, TWO CUPS. It’s like a lovely fresh salad on top of your fish, and it plates beautifully. Don’t skimp on the herbs, either.

In case you’re wondering, here was my full menu: