SERVES 4
Salmon is one of the most popular types of fish in Australia, and for good reason – it’s good for you and tastes great. That said, for the best fillets in the bunch, check where they’ve been sourced from. The flesh should be lovely and pink, and if it smells at all like seafood, move on.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 4 x 170 g salmon fillets, deboned and skin on
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
HERB SALAD
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup loosely packed mint leaves
- 1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
BUTTERY PEA SMASH
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 500 g frozen baby peas
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) chicken broth or water
- 3 tablespoons coconut cream
Method:
For the herb salad, place the shallot, coconut sugar and lemon zest and juice in a small bowl and mix well. Season to taste and leave to soften for 10–15 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the buttery pea smash, warm the butter in a saucepan over medium heat (use your side burner if your barbecue has one), add the garlic and fry gently until softened, about 1–2 minutes. Add the peas and broth or water, bring to the boil and cook until the peas are just tender, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the coconut cream and puree with a hand-held blender until lovely and smooth. Cover with foil to keep warm and set aside.
Preheat the barbecue flat plate to medium–hot and grease with the olive oil.
Place the salmon on the flat plate, skin-side down, and cook for 3–4 minutes or until the skin is crispy and the flesh has begun to cook through. Using tongs, carefully turn the salmon over and continue to cook for about 1 minute for medium salmon or longer until it is cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate and let it rest for a few minutes. Add the herbs to the softened shallot mixture, toss well and season to taste again.
To serve, spoon the buttery pea smash onto plates. Arrange the salmon on top and the herb salad on the side. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, season with salt and pepper and serve with the lemon wedges on the side.
Barbecue This! by Luke Hines,
Photography by Mark Roper
Published by Plum, RRP $39.99
