Recipe20 minutes · serves 2 · Easy

Pan-Seared Salmon with Lemon Herb Aioli

Crisp-skinned salmon fillet finished with a spoonful of lemon herb aioli. Twenty minutes, one pan, no fuss.

Buy the fish for this recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 salmon fillets, about 170 g (6 oz) each, skin on
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • Flaky salt and cracked pepper
  • 2 tbsp lemon herb aioli
  • Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. 01

    Take the salmon out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead and pat the skin completely dry.

  2. 02

    Salt the skin only and let it sit five minutes so the surface dries further.

  3. 03

    Heat the oil in a heavy pan until it shimmers. Lay the fillets in skin-down, away from you, and press flat for ten seconds.

  4. 04

    Cook 80% of the way through on the skin — you'll see the colour climb the side of the fillet — about 5 minutes.

  5. 05

    Flip, add the butter, and baste for one minute. Pull at 50°C (122°F) in the centre for medium.

  6. 06

    Rest three minutes, then spoon the lemon herb aioli alongside and finish with lemon and flaky salt.

From the counter: Sockeye is leaner than Atlantic — cook it a minute less or it tightens up.

All recipes and cooking notes