Freshly baked Andfjord Salmon with fennel and dill mayonnaise

"There's nothing quite like fried salmon when you get good caramelization," says chef Øyvind Bøe Dalelv. One of his favourite recipes is baked or fried salmon fillets.

He has just received a box of the very first batch of salmon from land-based Andfjord Salmon. The salmon is about 1.5 kilos, and it is a historic moment when Øyvind becomes the first in the world to have the opportunity to sample the salmon.

"It looks absolutely beautiful and looks just like wild salmon," says Øyvind as he starts filleting.

"First, we're going to salt the salmon. I always prefer to use Maldon salt. Then we add some pepper. And then some sugar. You should use two parts salt and one part sugar for sugar-cured salmon. After ten minutes, you rinse the sugar and salt off the fillets, before baking them in the oven at very low heat," says Øyvind.

Chef Øyvind Bøe Dalelv, restaurant Michaels, Oslo.

Done this way, the fillets can be left in the oven for 30 minutes – or a whole hour, for example. If you keep the oven below 48 degrees, they will not be ruined.

"But sugar-cured salmon can also be prepared on the grill or in the frying pan. If you fry the salmon in a pan, you can use sunflower oil. There's nothing quite like fried salmon when you get that good caramelization in the fat. It can also be cooked with the skin on, but it is then important to scrape the skin thoroughly first, and fry the salmon skin side down, so that you get crispy and good skin. Nobody likes soft skin."

"Feel free to sprinkle a little salt and lemon zest on top when frying. To get some freshness in the dish, we grate a little of the outermost peel of a lemon, that's what's called zest," explains the chef.

An alternative to oven baking is to fry the salmon in a pan.

"I have now seared the salmon quickly on one side at a high temperature. You can choose to bake it further in the oven, but I think it's really good when it's a little soft and raw on the other side."

"Finally, we serve it with a little fennel, which is sliced into thin strips and placed in ice water, so that it's completely crisp. It's crispy and flavourful and tastes a bit like anise. A little dill and dill mayonnaise is also a good accompaniment."

"We make dill mayonnaise with dill oil, which is whipped with mustard and egg yolk. This makes a nice green mayonnaise. It also adds a bit of fat to the dish."

"We also serve it with another sauce, which is made from crème fraiche, cream, milk, salt, pepper and, not least, horseradish," concludes Øyvind.

Ingredients & servings

1
  • Salmon from Andfjord Salmon 125 g
  • Maldon salt 1 tsp
  • Sugar 1 tsp
  • Fresh fennel 2 tbsp
  • Dill 1 tbsp

Sauce

1
  • Crème fraiche 1 dl
  • Cream 1 dl
  • Milk 2 tbsp
  • Fresh horseraddish 1 tbsp

Andfjord Salmon is a Norwegian company established in 2014. The company is listed at Oslo Stock Exchange (ANDF), and located at Kvalnes on the northernmost island of Andøya in Vesterålen, Norway.

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