I’ve been wanting to make this Slow Roasted Salmon recipe for a while now. I thought of it months ago, when summer fruit was at its best, and I just had no interest in buying (or even looking at) citrus. Plus- there were no blood oranges to be found, and blood oranges are the stuff that food photography dreams are made of.
So when I saw a variety of citrus popping up at the market, I knew this slow roasted salmon with citrus & chiles was bound to happen soon.
If you’re thinking “Slow roasted fish? That sounds bonkers!”, stay with me. There are some great reasons to try this method.
The main one? The chances of overcooking it are minimal. The other benefit is that you won’t stink up your house the way you would if you threw fish into a smoking hot pan. And the texture of fish when you cook it this way is excellent; tender and juicy.
Oh and it’s so easy! Literally no skill required. Put fish in pan, season fish, cook fish, done. No searing, no worrying about sticking to the pan. See the photo below? That’s a filet of salmon placed on a sheet pan with parchment paper, and topped with a mixture of citrus, red onions, jalapeños, and olive oil. That’s it!
And if you’re still shaking your head thinking “But I don’t have TIME for that!” Don’t worry! Just because it’s slow roasted doesn’t mean it takes a long time, like it would if we were talking about beef or pork. It’s still fish, and still cooks quickly.
Did I mention it’s almost impossible to overcook? You are now a fish cooking pro. Congrats! The recipe that follows is one of my favorite flavor combinations for fish, but once you have the method under your belt, you can really get creative with the ingredients. The idea for citrus and chiles came from The Flavor Bible, which is by far the most used culinary book on my shelf.
The most challenging part of this recipe is slicing the citrus, chiles, and onion very thinly. You can use a mandoline if you don’t feel like practicing your knife skills. If you do use a knife, make sure it’s very sharp! Tip: it’s easier to slice the citrus in half first so you have a flat surface to keep it stable.
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Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus & Chiles
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Main Course
Description
Slow roasting fish is a game changer; it’s almost impossible to overcook, and yields an incredible texture and flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds salmon (I recommend wild king salmon if it’s available)
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 cup very thinly sliced red onion or shallot, (about 1 medium-large shallot)
- 1 red or green jalapeño, (thinly sliced)
- 1 lemon or Meyer lemon, (thinly sliced)
- 1 lime, (thinly sliced)
- 1 orange, (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- cilantro, (for garnish)
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275ºF and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the salmon on the prepared baking sheet and season with the salt, cumin, and coriander.
- In a medium bowl, gently toss the sliced onions, jalapeño, lemon, lime, and orange with 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Arrange on top of the salmon and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until the salmon is just barely cooked through. (see note)
- Transfer the salmon to a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Garnish with cilantro and sprinkle with flaky salt.
Notes
- When salmon (or any fish) is cooked at a lower temperature, the cooked protein looks quite different than when it’s cooked at high heat. It can tend to look uncooked, as if nothing really changed in the oven, but it has. If you’re not sure if it’s done, use a fork to break off a piece. If it easily breaks apart, it’s done.
- Leaner salmon, such as sockeye or coho will likely cook faster, so check it after 10 minutes or so, and adjust time accordingly. The good news is: It’s very hard to overcook fish when slow roasting it!
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Susan says
Wow, Simone. This makes my mouth water!
zenbelly says
I hope you love it if you try it! 🙂
Melissa, says
Made this for dinner tonight- wonderful to start the year in a nice, light way… love the easy technique!
Thanks!
★★★★★
zenbelly says
Thanks, Melissa! So glad you loved it 😀
Friday says
Thank you for introducing this slow-roasting method for salmon! I’ve been doing lots of variations on it, changing up the toppings, using frozen fillets of sockeye salmon. Like you said, it’s hard to overcook it!
★★★★★