Thu, May 24 2012
crispy barbecued side of salmon with cucumber yoghurt
I love cooking big pieces of fish on my barbecue, but you must use a medium-hot part of the barbie – if it’s too hot, you’ll crisp the skin before the inside is cooked. Start the fish off with the skin side down and only turn it over when it’s crisp and golden. If you’re not keen on eating fish skin, that’s probably because you haven’t tried it when it’s been cooked till it’s nice and crispy! It can be as good as pork crackling if done properly.
Ingredients
• 1 x 1.5kg side of salmon, scaled and pinboned
• zest and juice of 1 lemon a bunch of fresh herby fennel tops or basil, leaves picked and finely chopped
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cucumber, peeled lengthwise at intervals
• 300ml natural yoghurt 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• a small bunch of fresh mint or oregano, leaves picked and chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
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Place the salmon skin side down on a plastic board and, using a sharp
knife, slash it evenly all over on the fleshy side, making the
incisions about 1cm deep. Scatter the lemon zest and most of the
chopped fennel tops or basil over the salmon, then push these
flavourings into the incisions – don’t hold back; really push them in!
Rub the fish lightly all over with olive oil then season with salt and
pepper, giving the skin side a generous amount as most of this will
fall off.
When your barbie’s ready, lay the salmon on the bars, skin side down.
The flesh will start to colour from the bottom up and after about 4
minutes the skin should be beautifully golden brown. Carefully flip the
salmon over with a roasting fork or a spatula and cook for a further 2
to 3 minutes on the other side. While it’s cooking, gently ease the
skin away from the fish and put it on the barbie alongside to crisp up.
If your salmon is wild it will have slightly less fat in it, so will be
a drier fish. You can therefore cook it for a shorter amount of time,
even leaving it slightly undercooked – although this might feel unusual
to us Brits, who nuke fish beyond belief, this is a really good idea!
If it’s (organically) farmed, cook it through, but please don’t
overcook it or it will become too dry. Lift the salmon carefully off
the barbecue and place it on a nice serving platter or board. Allow to
cool a little, then break the skin into pieces, a bit like poppadums.
Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, remove and discard the seeds, chop
it up and mix it in a bowl with the yoghurt. Balance the flavours with
the lemon juice, half the chopped chilli, and half the chopped mint or
oregano. Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil. Season carefully
to taste with salt and pepper.
Break the salmon up with a fork into four to six chunks. Serve with the
cucumber yoghurt, sprinkled with the rest of the chopped chilli and the
remaining fennel tops or basil. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and
make sure everyone gets a piece of the crunchy fish skin.
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