Salmon, gently roasted to a buttery medium-rare, stars in this make-ahead-friendly dish. Fruity citrus and dill join spicy radishes and ginger. The result is a refreshing, jostling mix of juicy crunchy, creamy, spicy and sweet. Both the salad and the salmon can be made two days ahead. Everything is good at room temperature or cold. To embellish, further, consider baby greens, thinkly sliced cucumbers or fennel, roasted beets, soba noodles, tostadas, furikake or chile oil.
Recipe by Ali Slagle and Victoria Hamilton.
Ingredients:
Yield: 4 servings
1 (1 1/2 pound) salmon fillet, skin on or skinless. Or you can use 2 lbs. steel head trout.
Kosher salt and black pepper
6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
1 (2 inch piece) of fresh ginger, scrubbed and finely grated. No need to peel.
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 grapefruit
2 oranges
6 small radishes, cut into thin wedges
1 avocado
Flaky sea salt for finishing.
Preparation:
- Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Pat the fish dry. Place on the tray skin-side down and season with salt and pepper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the dill, ginger and olive oil until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Spread half of the dill-ginger mixture over the top of the fish. (Reserve the remaining dill-ginger mixture.) Bake until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. (You will know when the salmon is done when the fish flakes or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part is 120 degrees.)
- As the fish cooks, cut off the top and bottom of the grapefruit and set the grapefruit down on one of the cut sides. Follow the curve of the fruit to cut away the peel and pith. Squeeze the peels into the remaining dill-ginger mixture to get out any juice. Cut the fruit in half from top to bottom. Slice into 1/4 inch thick half moons and remove the seeds. If your pieces are especially large, halve them again. Transfer the fruit and any juice on the cutting board to the bowl. Repeat with the oranges. Add the radishes, season generously with salt, and stir gently to combine.
- Break the fish into large pieces, and divide across plates with the citrus salad. Peel and pit the avocado. Then, quarter it lengthwise and add to plates. Season with salt. Spoon the juices from the bowl over top, and season with black pepper, another drizzle of olive oil, and flaky sea salt, if using.
