It might be controversial, but for me the Christmas Lunch highlight is Salmon. When it is treated with care it is a showstopper. In my humble opinion anyway 😊

This recipe is so simple and it is as satisfying to eat as it is to look at!

You can make the glaze up a day in advance and all you have to do on Christmas day is spoon it over the fish, and add a couple of easy garnishes!

I cooked this dish for Harbour Fish who take pre orders for a whole salmon OR sides of salmon for Christmas Day.

This glaze makes enough for a 1.5 gram side of salmon, if your piece is smaller you might like to reserve some for another dish.

If you have never cooked a piece of salmon like this before, honestly it is SO EASY! Wayyyyy easier than a Ham or even roast chicken.

My tips are

Line your tray with baking paper so it doesn’t stick. You can easily serve it straight from the tray too, we do this heaps!
Bring your fish to room temperature before cooking. So just get it out of the fridge an hour before cooking so the protein isn’t going from the fridge straight to a hot oven.
Salmon doesn’t take long to cook and it will keep cooking once taken from the oven. So take care with it, and use your initiative, eyes and fingers. Look at the colour changing while it cooks, you want the centre to still have some pink running through the middle. My piece was 600grams and took 8 minutes at 180. If you have a larger piece around 1.5 Kgs then this will take around 12-15 mins.

Pomegranate & Orange Glazed Salmon

Ingredients

Side of salmon mine was 600 grams

Glaze

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Salt and pepper
3 cm piece ginger minced
2 tablespoons orange juice

Pickle

Half a red onion very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon of white vinegar

Garnish

1 cup Mint leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
½ pomegranate seeds removed
Tiny drizzle of olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 fan bake.
Take a piece of baking paper and place on an oven tray.
Place your side of salmon directly onto the tray and set aside
Make your glaze by adding all ingredients together in a jar and shaking to combine. Taste and check seasoning. Set aside.
Make your red onion pickle by adding all ingredients together in a bowl and stirring. Set aside.
Once all your elements are ready, you are ready to cook your salmon.
Spoon over the glaze and place in your oven. See cooking notes above, I check after 5 mins and then watch it pretty closely. Under is better than over.
Once it is cooked take from the oven and let cool for a few mins so that when you add your herbs they don’t wilt.
In a bowl combine some of your red onion pickle with the herbs and pomegranate and squeeze over half the lime.
Top the fish with the pickled red onion mix and drizzle over a tiny bit of olive oil.
Serve immediately.
Happy Cooking xx Jana