Cyrus’s Indian Herb-Crusted Salmon
A mouthwatering Indian salmon recipe from The Incredible Spice Men. The delicious salmon is coated in a coriander, green chilli, cumin seed and garlic crust.
Introduction
A delicate blend of spices, but one that works magically with salmon – especially wild salmon, if you can get it. For a smoother crust, grind the spices in a pestle and mortar before adding them to the food processor.
Ingredients
| 6 x 150g (5oz) | salmon fillets, skin on |
| 1 tbsp | rapeseed oil or vegetable oil, for frying |
| 50ml (2fl oz) | extra-virgin olive oil or cold-pressed extra-virgin rapeseed oil |
| For the crust: | |
| 150g (5oz) | fresh white bread, crust removed |
| A large handful | of fresh coriander |
| 3 | garlic cloves |
| ¾ tsp | cumin seeds |
| 1 tsp | coriander seeds |
| 1 tsp | dried thyme, or 1 sprig of fresh thyme |
| 1 | mild green chilli, seeds removed if liked, chopped |
| ½ tsp | salt |
| 50ml (2fl oz) | rapeseed oil or vegetable oil |
| For the marinade: | |
| 1 tsp | turmeric |
| ½ tsp | salt |
| 2 tbsp | lemon or lime juice |
Essential kit
You will need a food processor.
Method
First make the crust topping. Blitz the bread in a food-processor to a soft crumb consistency. Add all of the remaining crust ingredients, and blitz again until you have a green crumb mixture. Taste the mixture, adjust the seasoning to personal preference and set aside.
To make the marinade, mix together the turmeric, salt and lemon juice. Apply it well all over the fish. The fish can be cooked immediately, but if time allows, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow the flavours in the marinade to mature.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4, and place a rack near the top of the oven. Drain the fish well of any liquid and dab dry with kitchen paper.
Heat the tablespoon of rapeseed oil or vegetable oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat, and fry the fish fillets skin-side down, without moving them, for 2-3 minutes until the skin is crisp and browned. (You may need to do this in two or three batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, which results in soggy skin.) Turn the fillets over and cook on the flesh side for a minute or so.
Transfer the fish, skin-side up, to a roasting tray. Place them close to one another, and spoon the crumb mixture over to coat all the pieces in a nice thick layer. Drizzle over the olive or rapeseed oil, place the tray in the oven and in about 6-8 minutes your crust should be ready and your salmon cooked to medium. If you like a crisper crust or your salmon fully cooked through, then leave the dish in a few minutes more, but the fish should be in the oven no longer than 10-12 minutes in total. Serve with boiled new potatoes and a salad.
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