Fast Recipes

Crisp-skinned salmon with pea purée and soft-herb salad

Elegant and full of great textures, serve this dish at your next dinner party or quickly whip it up for a midweek meal. To keep things extra simple, strip the herb salad back to just two herbs.

By Max Adey
  • 20 mins preparation
  • 10 mins cooking
  • Serves 4
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Elegant and full of great textures, this dish is special enough to serve at your next dinner party yet quick enough to whip up for a midweek meal. To keep things extra simple, strip the herb salad back to just two herbs.

Ingredients

  • 2 golden shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 2 cups (loosely packed) mixed soft herb leaves (such as mint, chives, parsley, dill or chervil)
  • 1½ tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 4 salmon fillets (about 180gm each), skin on, pin-bones removed
Pea purée
  • 30 gm butter, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated
  • 500 gm frozen baby peas
  • 80 ml chicken stock or water (⅓ cup)
  • ¼ tsp ground fennel seeds (optional)
  • 60 gm crème fraîche (¼ cup)

Method

  • 1
    Toss shallot, sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to combine well, season to taste and leave to soften. Just before serving, add herbs, toss to combine and season to taste.
  • 2
    For pea purée, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add garlic and fry gently until softened (1-2 minutes). Add peas, stock and fennel seeds, bring to the boil and cook until peas are just tender (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat, add crème fraîche and purée with a hand-held blender until smooth. Cover with foil to keep warm.
  • 3
    Heat oil in non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add salmon skin-side down, top with baking paper, weight with a heavy pan, and fry until skin is crisp (2-3 minutes). Turn over and fry until salmon is cooked to medium (1 minute). Remove from pan and rest for a minute. Arrange salmon on plates with pea purée and herb salad, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, season with black pepper and serve with lemon wedges.