Recipe by Angie Ma. Words by Charlie Cameron.

We eat quite a lot of salmon as an everyday family meal (when it’s just us it’s either Caramelised Lemongrass / Ginger and Soy / or with a pesto crust - family friendly easy go to meals). But for entertaining, it’s nice to up the fancy factor just a touch and slow roast a salmon side and dress it prettily with orange, herbs and fennel. When it comes to entertaining I like easy delicious dishes that are general crowd pleasers - and this slow roasted salmon with dill, orange and fennel ticks all the boxes. Pair it with a carb of choice - roasted potato chunks or perhaps a warm couscous salad - add in a crisp green side salad, and you have yourself a dinner party.

slow roasted salmon with orange, dill and fennel

Slow Roasted Salmon with Dill, Orange and Fennel

Serves 4-6
Recipe adapted from Bon Apetit

Ingredients

1-1.2kg Salmon side from a good fishmonger*
1 fennel bulb medium
1 lemon thinly sliced
1 orange thinly sliced
4-5 sprigs of dill plus more to garnish
⅓ cup olive oil
Sea salt and Pepper

Mustard sauce
½ cup mayo
1 tbs wholegrain mustard
½ tsp salt
Juice and zest of ¼ orange
Salt and Pepper

Method

Mix mustard sauce ingredients together, season with salt and pepper, and add more orange juice if needed. Set aside. Preheat oven to 135C. Place baking paper on the baking tray. Toss orange, fennel, lemon, dill, thyme and parsley on the baking paper in the baking dish and season with salt and pepper.

Season salmon with salt and pepper on both sides and place on top of the bed of citrus, fennel and herbs. Place a few of the citrus and dill pieces on top and drizzle with the olive oil. Roast the salmon on low 135C until just cooked. The best way to test this is when the tip of the knife slides through easily in the thickest part. It should still be a bit pink in the center. It will take approximately 30-40 mins for 1kg.

Transfer the salmon carefully on the plate, arrange some of the lemon and orange pieces on top and spoon over the oil. Garnish with fresh dill and thinly sliced radish (optional) and serve with the mustard sauce on the side.

Note: If you are short on time, you can also roast the salmon at 180C for 25-30 min or until you can just slide the tip of a knife through the middle and it is still pink inside. But try the slow cooked method for a softer, buttery salmon texture.