TRAY BAKED SALMON WITH OLIVES, GREEN BEANS, ANCHOVIES AND TOMATOES

 

Recipe courtesy Jamie Oliver

7 ounces green beans
20 small cherry tomatoes
1 to 2 good handfuls black olives
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 (8-ounce) thick salmon fillet steaks, with or without skin, but definitely pin-boned
2 lemons
1 handful fresh basil, picked
12 anchovy fillets

Tail the green beans, blanch them until tender in salted, boiling water, and drain. Put in a bowl with the cherry tomatoes and the stoned olives. Toss in the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Give the salmon fillets a quick wash under the tap and pat dry with kitchen paper towels. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over the fillets, on both sides, then season both sides with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Preheat the oven and a roasting tray at the highest temperature. Put your 4 fillets of salmon at 1 end of the roasting tray. Toss the basil into the green beans, olives and tomatoes and place this mixture at the other end of the tray. Lay the anchovies over the green beans. Roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and serve with lemon quarters.

This is very tasty with some homemade mayonnaise or aioli.

AIOLI:

When I make aioli I use 2 olive oils: one is a bit more expensive, a bit more peppery and a bit more gutsy; and a second which is a bit more bland but still nice and mellow. By blending the flavors in this way you achieve an olive oil flavor that isn’t too strong or too peppery.

Aioli is great with cold roast pork. Basil aioli is good with pink grilled salmon and lemon aioli works well with crostini in fish broth.

1/2 small clove of garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
*1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Approximately 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Approximately 1 cup olive oil
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Smash up the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle (if you don’t have a mortar and pestle you can very finely chop the garlic). Place the egg yolk and mustard in a bowl and whisk. Then start to add your olive oil bit by bit. Once you’ve blended in a half cup of the olive oil you can start to add the rest in larger amounts. When you’ve added it all, you can add the garlic and lemon (to taste) and any extra flavors such as basil, fennel tops, dill, chopped roast nuts. To finish just season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice. Yield: 8 servings

*RAW EGG WARNING The American Egg Board states: "There have been warnings against consuming raw or lightly cooked eggs on the grounds that the egg may be contaminated with Salmonella, a bacteria responsible for a type of food poisoning....Healthy people need to remember that there is a very small risk and treat eggs and other raw animal foods accordingly. Use only properly refrigerated, clean, sound-shelled, fresh, grade AA or A eggs. Avoid mixing yolks and whites with the shell”

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy