Recipe from 'A River Rules My Kitchen', a cookbook by Tony Smith.
Food Styling and Photography by Deborah Aspray.
October is the month that most thyme varieties are in flower and the hills of Central Otago are covered in wild aromatic flowering thyme. Viper's Bugloss honey is a New Zealand honey produced from the wild blue river flower. This is a simple salmon dish and quickly prepared.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
600g salmon fillet, cut into 4 equal pieces
3-4 sprigs of freshly picked flowering thyme
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon- or citrus-infused olive oil
2 tablespoons verjuice
1 teaspoon Viper's Bugloss honey
some extra lemon or citrus oil
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Score the salmon skin with a sharp knife and rub over a little salt (this will help to crisp up the skin). Pick off the softer thyme tips and discard the harder stalks. Chop the thyme finely and sprinkle over the salmon fillets on the flesh side. Place the fillets, skin side up, on an oven tray. Spoon over the lemon oil, season, and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and rest for 5 minutes. With a spatula, place the salmon on 4 serving plates.
For a simple sauce, add the verjuice to any pan juices with the honey and a dash of the extra citrus oil. Mix well and spoon over the salmon fillets.
Serve with freshly cooked asparagus.