Hot Honey Salmon with Crisp Cucumber Salad

Method

1. Take the salmon out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking and preheat the oven to 220°C with a rack in the upper third. Pat the fillets very dry with paper towels (dry fish browns, wet fish steams), then season the flesh side with the salt, garlic powder and pepper and rub the oil all over.

   Add in this stepSalmon fillets, skin on (about 150 g each, 2.5 cm thick) 300 gSalt ½ tspGarlic powder ½ tspBlack pepper to tasteOlive oil 2 tsp

   oven

2. Halve the cucumber lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon and slice into 5 mm half-moons. Toss with the salt in a bowl and leave for 10 min, then squeeze it by the handful to press out the water that has collected; this keeps the salad crunchy instead of watery.

   Add in this stepCucumber 300 gSalt ½ tsp

3. Slice the red onion as thinly as you can and rinse it under cold water to soften its bite. In a mixing bowl, stir the rice vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then add the cucumber, onion and dill, toss and keep in the fridge until serving.

   Add in this stepRed onion 30 gRice vinegar 2 tbspSugar 1 tspFresh dill, chopped 2 tbsp

4. Make the hot honey: put the honey, red pepper flakes and apple cider vinegar in a 14 cm saucepan and warm over low heat for 3 min, just until small bubbles appear at the edge. Do not let it boil hard or it will turn thick and bitter. Take it off the heat and let it sit so the chili keeps infusing.

   Add in this stepHoney 3 tbspRed pepper flakes ¾ tspApple cider vinegar 1 tsp

   low heat

5. Line a 25×18 cm baking tray with baking paper and lay the salmon skin side down, leaving 3 cm between fillets. Roast in the oven for 8 min, until the sides have turned pale pink and opaque but the centre of the top is still slightly darker.

   oven

6. Brush about half the hot honey over the tops, switch the oven to the broil (top grill) setting and broil on the top rack for 2 min, watching closely, until the glaze bubbles and the edges caramelise. The salmon is done when it flakes easily when pressed with a fork and the thickest part reaches 63°C on a thermometer.

   oven

7. Let the salmon rest for 2 minutes, then drizzle with the remaining hot honey. Serve with the cucumber salad and lemon wedges for squeezing over.

   Add in this stepLemon, cut into wedges ½