Simple Ottolenghi Recipe – Za’atar salmon and tahini
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Simple Ottolenghi Recipe – Za’atar salmon and tahini
Tuck in this divine Ottolenghi dish: a simple recipe from his new book co-authored with Noor Murad, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love.
Za’atar salmon and tahini
Ingredients:
- 4 salmon fillets (600g), skin on and pin bones removed
- 2 tbsp za’atar
- 2 tsp sumac, plus ½ tsp extra for sprinkling
- 60ml olive oil
- 250g baby spinach
- 90g tahini
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ tbsp roughly chopped
- coriander leaves
- salt and black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C fan.
- Pat dry the salmon and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the za’atar and sumac, then sprinkle this all over the top of the salmon to create a crust.
- Place a large ovenproof sauté pan on a medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add the spinach and a pinch each of salt and pepper and cook for 2–3 minutes, until just wilted.
- Top with the salmon, skin side down, and drizzle the top of the fish with 2 tablespoons of oil. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the tahini, garlic, 2½ tablespoons of lemon juice, a good pinch of salt and 100ml of water until smooth and quite runny.
- When ready, remove the pan from the oven and pour the tahini all around the salmon (but not on the fish at all). Bake for another 5 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and the tahini is bubbling. Spoon over the remaining tablespoon each of lemon juice and oil and top with the coriander and extra sumac.
Make it your own:
Swap out the salmon for other sustainably caught fish, adjusting cooking times where needed.
Use other leafy greens in place of spinach, such as kale or chard.
Extracted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25)
Photography by Elena Heatherwick