Salmon and Vanilla – Tarator Style
Prep Time:20-30 mins
Cook Time:1 hour
Serves:Serves
Ingredients
- 1 side of Salmon (about 1.4kg), skinless, pin-boned, at room temperature
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) Vanilla & Grapeseed oil
- Juice of One Lemon
- Salt
- 2tbsp Pink Himalayan Salt (or for better outcome - Equagold’s Vanilla & Herb Sea Salt)
- ½ tsp each cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, fennel seeds
- ½ tsp sesame seeds, toasted
- Tarator crust
- 100 gm Walnuts chopped into medium pieces (you can use other nuts such as pistachio, macadamia or almonds)
- 2 small Spanish onions, very finely diced
- 1 cup (firmly packed) mint and Parsley, shredded (Corianders good on this dish too!)
- 1 long red chilli, seeds removed, very finely chopped
- 3 tsp Sumac
- Tahini sauce
- 100 gm Thick plain greek yoghurt
- 30 gm Unhulled tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed with ½ tsp Pink Himalayan salt
Method
1. For fragrant salt, dry-roast ingredients in a frying pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant (1-2 minutes), then cool. Fragrant salt will keep stored in an airtight container for 6 months… or use our Vanilla and Herb Sea Sea salt 2. Trim salmon, Place on an oven tray, season both sides generously with fragrant salt, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to marinate (1 hour). 3. Meanwhile, for tarator crust, preheat oven to 200C. Spread walnuts (other nuts) on an oven tray and roast, stirring occasionally, until golden (4-5 minutes), finely chop, combine in a bowl with remaining ingredients and refrigerate. 4. Meanwhile, for tahini sauce, combine yoghurt and tahini in a bowl, stir in lemon juice and garlic mixture, season to taste and refrigerate until required. 5. Reduce oven to 80C fan-forced or lowest possible setting. Brush/drizzle all over with 30ml Grapeseed and vanilla oil. Wrap in baking paper to form a parcel, place skin-side down on an oven tray and bake for 15 minutes. Open parcel, carefully turn salmon, reseal parcel and bake for another 15 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes, unwrap salmon, then gently scrape away grey bloodline with a knife. Place salmon on dish spread thickly with tahini sauce mixture, add the tarator crust and transfer to a platter. Combine lemon juice with remaining oil in a bowl and season to taste, then drizzle over salmon and serve. You have to try this, it’s the best Salmon dish we’ve had and all the family agree! Once you start it will be the beginning of successful adaptations!