- olive oil
- 2000 gr. fillets of salmon , skin on, scaled, pin-boned, from sustainable sources
- 100 gr. blanched almonds
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 lemons
- 100 gr. stale ciabatta
- 2 fresh baby Italian artichokes
- 280 gr. jar of artichoke hearts in oil
- 30 gr. fresh mint
- 12 rashers of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
- 30 gr. fresh thyme
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220 ºC.
- Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper and rub with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Lay 8 pieces of butcher’s string at 5 cm intervals widthways across the baking tray, then place one salmon fillet on top, skin-side down.
- Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan until golden, tossing regularly, then cool for 1′ and tip into a food processor.
- Peel, roughly chop and add the garlic, finely grate in the lemon zest, then tear in the ciabatta.
- Season with black pepper, then pulse until finely chopped.
- Carefully layer over the salmon.
- Halve 1 lemon.
- Trim the artichoke stalks 2cm from the base.
- Peel away the tough outer leaves until you reach the paler ones that are tender enough to eat, then trim the heads to 3cm, rubbing with the cut lemon as you go to prevent discolouration.
- Halve the artichokes, carefully scoop out and discard the hairy chokes, then finely slice the rest.
- Drain and roughly slice the jarred artichoke hearts, reserving the oil.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of artichoke oil into a large frying pan and place over a high heat, add the jarred and fresh artichokes and fry for 2′, or until warm.
- Pick and roughly chop the mint leaves, scatter into the pan, then remove from the heat.
- Spoon the artichoke mix evenly over the salmon, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the artichoke oil, then lay the other salmon fillet on top, skin-side up.
- Arrange the bacon over the top in a criss-cross pattern, then place the thyme sprigs on top.
- Tie the string up and around both fillets to secure the filling.
- Drizzle over a little artichoke oil and sprinkle any excess breadcrumbs back over the top.
- Place in the middle of the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 180 ºC.
- Roast for 35 – 40′, or until the bacon and salmon skin is golden and crisp.
- Rest for 10′ before serving with the remaining lemon cut into wedges for squeezing over.
- Delicious served with buttered new potatoes and a crisp green salad.