Slow Roasted Winter King Salmon
with Pine Nut Gremolata

Salmon
1 1/2 lbs salmon: cut into four 6-ounce portions
2 tablespoons olive oil (approx)
Kosher salt & black pepper

Gremolata
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium shallot
1 tablespoon capers
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika or a pinch of red chili flakes
1 lemon, zest & juice
Large handful of parsley (about ½ cup)

For the Salmon:

1. Preheat oven to 275 F
2. You will need a roasting pan or baking pan large enough to hold the fish. For easy cleanup line with parchment paper or brush with olive oil. Arrange the fish fillets skin side down in the pan. Drizzle with remaining olive oil (1 tablespoon) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Gauge the cooking time according to the thickness of the fillets:
4. Approximately 5-6 minutes per ¼ inch of thickness
5. For fillets 1- 1½ inch thick it should take between 20-30 minutes
6. Roast until the fish has an internal temperature of 120 F on an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part. You can also tell if it’s cooked when the flesh will separate easily from the skin.  (It’s tricky to gauge exactly when fish is perfectly cooked, so the nice thing about this slow-roasting method is that it is much less likely to dry out due to the low cooking temperature.)

For the Gremolata:

1. In a small skillet or saucepan on medium heat dry toast the pine nuts until just beginning to brown, 4-6 minutes. Watch carefully to not burn them. (Alternately you can toast them in the oven on a sheet pan, 10-15 minutes at 275F, or 5 minutes at 350F, yes you can toast them at the same time you’re cooking the fish). Put in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Finely chop the shallot and put into the same pan along with the olive oil, capers and paprika or chili flakes. Cook until the shallot is translucent and beginning to caramelize around the edges.
3. Off the heat stir in the lemon juice and zest. Roughly chop the parsley and add along with the reserved pine nuts.
4. Spoon over the salmon or serve alongside.

Serves 4