Baked Salmon

I am currently staying with my wife, sister, Pooi See (My wife and my common friend) and Catherine (My wife's ex-colleague). I am assigned the task of being the chef of the house with my sister being the sous chef. For the last dinner of the year 2008, I have decided to prepare bake salmon as I always have salmon craving once in awhile. Oh by the way, the pronunciation for the word "Salmon" is not "Saal-mon" but instead without the "L" sound, which will make it sounds like "SAA-MON". So remember not to order "SAL-MON" next time.

The preparation is simple and in fact everyone can try this as it doesn't requires much complicated stuffs.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1. 2 pcs 100g Norwegian/Atlantic Salmon fillet (Or any other fish)
2. Ground black pepper
3. 10 Asparagus
4. Dill (Fresh or dried)
5. Crush dried red pepper
6. Butter
7. Bacon
8. Oil

Sauce:
1. Butter
2. Dill
3. Wasabi

Fruit Salsa:
1. 2 Kiwi
2. 2 Orange
3. 1 Tomato
4. A sprig of Parsley
5. Half a Lemon
6. Salt and ground black pepper

Clean the salmon and dap it dry with a towel. Marinade it with a pinch of salt, ground black pepper, dill and crush dried red pepper and sprinkle a dash of olive oil on the fish. Leave it to marinade in the refrigerator for 15mins.

Heat the over to 210°C.

Next, is to prepare the fruit Salsa. I love fruit salsa with Salmon as it provides a contrast of flavour to the salmon, which is rich and oily. Halve the kiwi horizontally and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Cut it into little cubes and place it in a bowl. Next, half the tomato and likewise, scoop out the innerds. Cut the tomato into cubes and place it together with the kiwi. Then, cut the orange peel off. Don't worry that you'll cut too much of the peel as the point is to cut the peel and some flesh to reveal the juicy flesh. Then cut out the orange sacs only and add it to the bowl. Add in the juice of half a lemon, chopped parsley and a pinch of salt & ground black pepper. Place the bowl in the refrigerator.

Place a piece of aluminium foil which is big enough to contain the salmon and also to make a roof to cover it. Line the tray with bacon to prevent the fish sticking to the tray as well as to infuse the smokey flavour to the fish. Place the marinated salmon (skin down) on top of the bacon (Remember to include the skin as it contains tonnes of nutrient goodness!) and fold the foil over to make a roof for the salmon . Place the fish into the oven for 10mins.

While the fish is cooking, lets prepare the asparagus. You can either stir fry or roast the asparagus. I opt for the simpler method which is just to water blanch it. Boil enough water to cover the asparagus in the container. Just pour the water over the asparagus and leave it to cook for 5mins.

Take the Salmon out from the oven and remove the foil roof by folding it to one side and pop it back into the oven and leave for another 5-10mins.

For the sauce, heat 2T butter in a sauce pan and add in the dill and cook for 1min. Remove from the pan and add to the wasabi sauce. Whisk the mixture vigorously until thick.

Remove the fish from the oven and rest it. Place the cooked asparagus on a plate and the salmon on top. Pour some sauce on it follow by the fruit salsa.

There you go, baked salmon for two. For those guys wanting to do something special for your special someone, why not prepare this simple bake salmon and impress her. ;)