“Supper?”
“Sorted–it’s in the bag!”
It’s a while since I have cooked salmon this way.
Can’t think why.
And it’s a cinch for busy people who come home tired from work.
The whoosh of scented steam as the parcel is unwrapped is an added treat–but watch your nose doesn’t get scalded!
The red peppercorns add to the beauty of the dish–are crunchy soft–and disintegrate when bitten into.
This is adapted from a recipe in Jenny Baker’s comprehensive Simply Fish.
for 2
2 salmon fillets–about 170gms each
2 tsp red peppercorns–optional
1 lemon
fresh herbs such as dill, tarragon, mint
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 large pieces of foil of equal size–large enough to envelop the salmon pieces and leave them enough space to “breath”
Preheat the oven to 200c/400F
- Lay the two large pieces of foil on a flat surface.
- Lay a salmon fillet on each piece of foil and season well with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle some olive oil over each fillet.
- Sprinkle a teaspoonful of the red peppercorns on each fillet.
- Slice off 4 thin slices from the lemon and place them–two/three–on each fillet.
- Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon over the fillets and add the herbs you favor.
I’ve used fresh tarragon and dill here.
- Wrap up the parcels–leaving that breathing space for the steam to do its work cooking the fillets.
- Place them on an oven tray and slide into the middle of the oven for about fifteen minutes.
- The cooking time depends on the size of the fillets–take a peek after 15 minutes.
- This got a “ding” from Meredith, who liked the taste the red peppercorns.
- We had brown basmati rice with a sauce of tomato and courgette slices (1 large tomato and 1 courgette) spooned over and tzatziki sauce (yogurt and cucumber), on the side.
Robin Ellis 
Is the skin on here? And do you prefer to cook with the skin on the fish? I never seem to know, only El Darko prefers not to see the skin on his plate.
Skin was on last night! But it doesn’t matter I reckon…
Love it!!!!
Robin, hi, we’ve not spoken before. By coincidence I had very similar for my supper: ‘cept with a hefty blanket of spinach (which reduces & moisturises the salmon beautifully) with chopped ginger, spring onion & brown rice. Yummy!
Regards, Jan
Sounds delicious–ginger’s good, I’ll try it.
There’s a recipe in Healthy Eating for Life inspired by Simon Hopkinson’s version.
That looks so good, and so easy. I’m trying it this weekend!
Looks beautiful. Each of the recipes you prepare is a feast for the eyes – as I said before – you paint a picture on the plate!
Yum; looks great!
Brilliant! Amazes me why anyone would open packets when it is quicker to be creative and use fresh food. Tastes better too! I sell Scottish Salmon for a living and it is especially wonderful to see great things done with this versatile fish. Lovely! Thanks Robin 🙂
Which fish do you avoid buying Stella? You are in place to know…
Hello Robin. Another delicious recipe for me to try!! Thank you ❤ Just wondering about the pink peppercorns you used in the recipe …. dry or preserved in brine? I could only find the dried variety in a blend – and I'd have to pick them out one by one! Tonight I will use a piece of ocean trout and substitute green peppercorns – in brine, with mint and dill. Will have to cook for Neal another time – he's at work :(-
Hi Pamela–the advantage of the pink is that they are not hard it seems. Not sure about green–the taste would be good but Neal won;don’t be happy to crack a tooth! Ocean trout sounds wonderful and different from fresh water trout.
I remember you once describing salmon as “local food” from the market. Perhaps if you have time one day you could share your views on farmed salmon for those of us who have to buy Norwegian farmed salmon? I guess there are other readers of your blog with the same problem.
By the way (actually way off topic – sorry) I wrote back in February that I would have liked to see “King Lear” at the National Theatre. Little did I realise that I would actually do so! It was at a local cinema yesterday courtesy of NTLive and the British Council. Last month we went to “Coriolanus.” Has this marvellous link-up come to your part of France? I found “Lear” both fresh and thought-provoking, although the definitive Edmund is still the 1970s RSC one.
Views on farmed salmon, anyone?–organic wild is best but expensive and not always available.
Hi Robin. I’m an ex pat living in BC now. I always go for the fresh salmon as it seems to taste better than farmed. Maybe it has something to do with the the fact it fights the currents etc where farmed salmon don’t really have to contend with that. Most Canadians here will go for fresh over farmed all the time. Plus we have to fight the bears off 😉 now a quick question. As salmon is plentiful over here and it is often cheaper to buy a whole fish than fillets can you suggest cooking times per lb for cooking in foil. Also the time on a BBQ.
I haven’t baked a whole salmon. There’s no clear rule according to this. Let me know how you get on!
Hi Robin– I recently discovered Poldark and just finished Series 1 this evening. I enjoyed very much, and began investigating a bit on the internet for the latest on Robin Ellis. This blog post is of interest to me as well– I have a whole salmon (sans head, tail and innards) that was shipped to me from across the country. I had no clue how to handle it, so into the freezer it went. (Kay is probably cringing at this notion!) While you may not have experience in baking a whole salmon, what would your recommendations be on thawed salmon? How long do you think it would remain viable in my refrigerator before it absolutely needed to be baked? I had thought of thawing it out and then baking steaks over time, as opposed to in one night. Thanks for any thoughts you have, and I look forward to your upcoming cameo.
What a lovely gift! What to do though? It’s summer here in France so I would consult the books I have or the internet as to how to cook a whole salmon and use it as an excuse to invite people over.
A simple classic summer lunch.
Next time you could think to cut it into steaks or have it filleted, before you freeze it.
I make something similar but using fresh lime,chilli,ginger and spring onions…yours sounds nicer though
An update, nearly two years later: I did eventually make the salmon! I thawed it out, cut it into steaks and baked it up with a balsamic glaze, if I remember correctly. We had so much salmon, I was afraid some would go to waste, so I gave some to my neighbor, who loved it.
I’m now remembering to write back due to the fact that I finally had a chance to see the new Poldark. While I’ll always be a fan of the 70’s production, I enjoyed this one immensely and thought that Aidan had a fine performance. I didn’t recognize you at first, until you glanced at him in a particular way– I recognized your facial expression. I immediately stopped the video, reversed it a bit and watched that moment again. Excellent performance as Reverend Halse, in both episode 3 and 6!
And of course, the next time I procure a large salmon, I will have it cut before freezing. Thanks for the tip, and for your work on Poldark!
Lovely, Laura and thanks. New series due in the autumn.