Paleo Oven-Roasted Salmon with Tomato Relish
Serves 4
WHY THIS PALEO OVEN-RAOSTED SALMON RECIPE WORKS
Fresh, wild-caught salmon is a staple of the paleo diet, but cooking it can be intimidating for even the most seasoned home cook. Oven roasting is a great hands-off approach, but often the price is an overcooked interior. To ensure that our fillets were perfectly cooked all the way through, we developed a hybrid roasting method, preheating the oven and baking sheet to 500 degrees and then turning down the heat just before placing the fish in the oven. The initial blast of high heat firmed the exterior of the fish; cutting a few small slashes in the skin rendered some excess fat. The fish cooked gently and stayed moist as the temperature slowly dropped. We paired our roasted salmon with a quickly marinated salad of fresh tomatoes, sweet basil, pungent shallots, and peppery olive oil. Mixing the vegetables with the dressing before cooking our salmon gave the shallots time to mellow and allowed all of the flavors to meld. The brightly flavored salad acted as a vibrant counterpoint to the rich salmon.
INGREDIENTS
2 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and pepper
4 (6- to 8-ounce) skin-on wild-caught salmon fillets, 1 inch thick
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
If your knife is not sharp enough to cut through the skin easily, try a serrated knife. It is important to keep the skin on during cooking; remove it afterward if you choose not to serve it.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine tomatoes, shallot, basil, 1 tablespoon oil, and vinegar in bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside for serving.
- Make 4 or 5 shallow slashes, about 1 inch apart, on skin side of each fillet, being careful not to cut into flesh. Pat salmon dry with paper towels, rub with remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees. Carefully place salmon skin side down on hot sheet and roast until center is still translucent when checked with tip of paring knife and registers 125 degrees (for medium rare), 6 to 9 minutes. Serve salmon with relish.
Enjoy the Paleo Oven-Roasted Salmon with family and friends today!
