8.11.17 Slow Roasted Sockeye Salmon with Summer Farro Salad
I know, you’re probably thinking that any recipe involving the word “roasted” does not belong in your summer repertoire. 99% of the time, I’m totally with you. The summer heat does not lend itself well to a lot of oven work, and while roasting is my ideal cooking method of choice come cooler weather, summer, in my opinion, is for grilling, and salads, and all those lovely things.
But every once in awhile, there comes an exception, and when it comes to summer cooking, slow roasted salmon is it. Our grill is a charcoal grill, and while I love nearly everything about it, sometimes it feels a little silly to go through the process of firing it up only to cook a piece of fish that takes about 4 minutes. Instead, I slather the fish in olive oil and salt, throw it in a low temperature oven (the key here is low temperature, which makes it much more bearable, even on the hottest of days), and let it roast away.
The nice thing about fish is that it cooks so quickly, that even slow roasting - a technique that can set you back several hours if you’re cooking most other types of meat - only takes about 20-30 minutes for salmon. Plus, since it cooks slowly, you end up with a beautifully textured, falling apart, nearly impossible to overcook piece of fish; the kind of thing that’s going to go perfectly with a summery grain salad, and a nice glass of rosé (or so I hear, since I’ve still got approximately 22 weeks to go until this baby arrives, but who’s counting?). The point is, if there was ever a reason to use your oven in the summer, well this is it.
Slow Roasted Sockeye Salmon
Serves 3-4
- 1 lb sockeye salmon filet
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- Lemon wedges and fresh snipped chives for serving
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Spread ½ Tbsp olive oil on the bottom of a baking sheet, then top with the salmon, skin side down. Spread the remaining ½ Tbsp olive oil evenly over the top of the fish, and sprinkle evenly with the salt.
3. Place fish in oven, and bake at 275, until fish is cooked through and flakes apart easily, about 20-25 minutes (although this timing may vary depending on the thickness of your filet).
4. Remove fish from pan, break into serving-sized pieces (I find it’s hard to cut cleanly after slow roasting), and transfer to a serving plate. Squeeze the juice from a few lemon wedges over the fish and top with fresh chives before serving.
Summer Farro Salad
Serves 3-4 generously
I love the nuttiness of farro here, but admittedly, it does take awhile to cook. If you’re tight on time, you can easily swap out the farro for a quicker cooking grain such as quinoa or freekeh.
- 2 cups cooked farro (from about 1 cup uncooked)
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 medium cucumber, chopped
- 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup (loose packed) of basil, mint, parsley, or a mix, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Juice 1 lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
- Salt and pepper to taste.
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper as needed.
