2008_06_17-Salmon.jpgGood salmon is at a premium these days. Dana recently wrote about her special splurge on truly wild salmon. We've also reported on the increasing rarity of really well-raised salmon. We do anticipate that it's in the fish industry's best interest to increase the ocean friendliness of their fishing practices and that eventually well-farmed fish will be easier to find. Until then, we are very careful about the salmon we buy and eat. And when we do buy it, we stick to the classic, totally dependable way of cooking our precious salmon fillets.

2008_06_17-Salmon2.jpgWe bake our salmon until it's delicately cooked - sweet and juicy. Overcooked salmon is detestable - dry and flaky. Yuck!

But it's not hard at all to do it right. In fact, if you're willing to spend a little money on a good piece of salmon, the tradeoff is just about the easiest and most delicious dinner you can imagine. It's so easy!

Here's how we bake our salmon.

How to Bake Salmon Fillets

  1. Heat oven to 350°F
    2. ...and line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease with olive oil.
  2. Cut 2 1-pound salmon fillets in half
    3. ...and lightly brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Optional: Add a creamy mustard sauce.
    4. We like to brush ours with a little bit of yogurt sauce, sweetened with honey, and seasoned with dill and mustard.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes.
    5. No more! Just until it's tender and flakes with a fork.
  5. Serve hot or cold.
    6. We're partial to this cold, served with just a little more yogurt.

How do you cook your salmon?

Related: Recipe: Warm Potato and Salmon Salad

(Images: Slow Roasted Sockeye Salmon Filet by Flickr member SiFu Renka, licensed for use under Creative Commons; Faith Hopler)