It’s Wednesday night. You need to throw something together quickly, otherwise you may just order pizza again.

Well, you could just order pizza …

… or you could open the pack of salmon in the fridge, make do whatever else you have, and try this mild, but deliciously satisfying and healthy, honey and garlic salmon bake!!!

This is what I like to think of as one of those homey, peasant dishes with a touch of elegance. Although salmon isn’t exactly peasanty but it is reasonably priced these days.

Here I have an adaptation of Jamie Oliver’s salmon bake. This honey and garlic salmon bake works on the same principles.

That is, salmon needs some seasoning, and then about 12 minutes at a high temperature. The rest of the meal I scrounged from what I had in the fridge and pantry – sweet mini capsicum/peppers, leftover charred corn from the night before, some rocket/arugula, and rice.

(Sweet capsicum/peppers were something I used to eat all the time when living in Greece. Did you know that capsicum actually derived from the Greek and Latin words for this wonderful vegetable??)

Also, I always try to think of things to make things easier [for myself!] in the kitchen, without sacrificing freshness and quality, and with minimal washing up. This honey and garlic salmon bake is one of those things. I even repurposed the pack it came in to marinate the salmon. Don’t yell, it’s only a super quick marinate, before disposing of the pack in an environmentally-friendly manner!

“No more on pleasant evenings we’ll saunter down the Mall,
When the trout is rising to the fly, the salmon to the fall.
The boat comes straining on her net, and heavily she creeps,
Cast off, cast off, she feels the oars, and to her berth she sweeps;
Now fore and aft keep hauling, and gathering up the clew.
Till a silver wave of salmon rolls in among the crew.
Then they may sit, with pipes a-lit, and many a joke and ‘yarn’
Adieu to Belashanny; and the winding banks of Erne!”
-William Allingham (1824-1889), excerpt from Adieu to Belshanny, Poem in Public Domain

Ingredients

4 skin-on salmon fillet slices (or more if they're tiny or you have extra hungry people, simply up the honey, garlic and lemon)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp honey
60 g butter, diced
lemon, squeeze
salt, pepper, fresh herbs if you wish
your choice of accompaniment – sweet mini roasted capsicum here, were cored, drizzled with olive oil and a little brown sugar and roasted for 30 minutes

Instructions

Drizzle honey over salmon flesh. Dot on butter, crushed garlic and herbs if using. Add a good amount of seasoning and a squeeze of lemon. Marinate for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 220℃/428℉.
Place salmon on baking paper on baking dish, skin side up, ensuring all the flavourings are at the bottom of the pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Season again if you wish. Top with fresh herbs. Serve with some of the sauces in the pan, vegetables, salad or rice. Good cold the next day.

Hello!

Honey and Garlic Salmon Bake