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Slow-baked salmon filet with preserved lemon and herb relish

Time1 hour 35 minutes
YieldsServes 4
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Cooking salmon slowly at lower temperatures the whole piece cooks to an especially tender, moist texture. Timing becomes less crucial as well. This recipe will produce fish that is medium-rare, with the center firm but still slightly translucent. If you like it less cooked, use an instant-read thermometer and pull the fish from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 105 degrees.

Being especially tender, slow-baked salmon needs something on the plate to provide a texture contrast. The easiest solution is the Indian lentil wafers called pappadums, which toast up crisp in a few seconds over direct stovetop heat. You can lay the dried pappadums directly in the grate of a gas range, turning them with tongs as they puff up and brown. With an electric stove you will need some sort of grate to hold them half an inch or so off the coils; a Mexican-style asador works perfectly.

Serve this with poached asparagus or another simple vegetable.

Choose organic or certified pesticide-free lemons if at all possible to make the preserved lemons, which need to be made a week ahead. Pit and chop 6 to 8 Kalamata or Gaeta olives and add them to the relish.

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Salmon

1

Skin the salmon and remove any pin bones. Season it lightly with salt and pepper and place the filet skin side down on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment. Leave it at room temperature while heating the oven to 300 degrees.

2

Rinse the preserved lemon wedges and finely chop them. Combine the lemons with the parsley, cilantro and olive oil and season to taste with pepper.

3

Bake the salmon without turning until the juices begin to seep out around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes.

4

When the salmon is nearly done, toast the pappadums directly over a gas flame or electric burner on very low heat, turning frequently, until puffed up and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes.

5

To serve, divide the salmon among 4 dinner plates and spoon the lemon relish alongside. Break the pappadums into 3 or 4 pieces each and lean them against the salmon.

Preserved lemons

1

Wash and dry the lemons. Set aside 10 for juicing; cut the rest into 6 wedges if small, 8 for average-size lemons.

2

Sprinkle a little salt into a large clean glass jar. Add a layer of lemon wedges, sprinkle them generously with salt, and continue adding lemons and salt, pressing down with a spoon to eliminate air pockets. Some juice will soak out of the lemons right away; top with lemon juice to barely cover the lemon wedges, then cover the jar and let stand at room temperature for a week, turning the jar daily to redistribute the salt and juice. Pour in a half-inch layer of olive oil and store in a cool pantry or in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.

Jay Harlow is author of “West Coast Seafood” (Sasquatch Books, $23.95).

Pappadums are sold at Indian markets.
Make Ahead:
The preserved lemons need to be made a week ahead.