Oven Roasted King Salmon with Braised Lentils and Spinach

Regal King Salmon is relatively new to Australia. We are more familiar with its cousin, Atlantic Salmon. It is high in Omega 3 and 6 so not only good for you, but very forgiving to cook which is why this oven method works so well. Best of all, because of the high oil content, it doesn’t smell when you cook it and freezes beautifully. Visit www.regalsalmon.co.nz for stockists.

Lentils are under-utilised yet they are a wonderful source of all sorts of goodies and are extremely low in fat. They are also easy and quick to cook and very versatile. However, the main thing to remember with any pulses is to discard the water they are soaked in or, in the case of these small slate coloured lentils, cooked in to avoid anti-social after effects.

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup French style lentils
4 x 170g fillets Regal King Salmon, skin on
1 tablespoon (20ml) olive oil
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1 leek, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon baby capers
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ lemon, juiced or to taste
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
200g baby spinach leaves
Extra olive oil, for shallow frying
1 jar salmon roe, for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Place the lentils in a medium saucepan, cover with water by 5cm and bring to the boil. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain.
2. Carefully remove the skin from each salmon fillet and set aside. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and place on a lined baking tray. Roast for 8 minutes for pink flesh or as desired.
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan, add carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Add leek a cook for a further 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add drained lentils, chives, flat-leaf parsley leaves, capers, mustard, lemon juice and cayenne pepper and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir through baby spinach leaves until just wilted.
4. Meanwhile, heat 2cm olive oil for shallow frying in a medium frying pan. Add salmon skin and cook for a minute, or until crisp on leave side. Drain on kitchen paper.
5. To serve, place a large spoonful of lentils on each plate and top with roasted salmon, crisp salmon skin and a spoonful of salmon roe.