Home > Recipes > Summer recipes > Whole roasted herb and lemon salmon

Whole roasted herb and lemon salmon

Name: Whole roasted herb and lemon salmon
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 2kg whole salmon, gutted and descaled (ask your fishmonger to do this for you); Finely grated zest and juice 2 lemons; Large bunch each fresh parsley, dill and tarragon, roughly chopped; 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve; 200ml dry white wine; 100ml elderflower cordial

Published: 11 Jul 16
Updated: 18 Mar 24

What could be more impressive than serving up a whole salmon for dinner party guests? We’ve used a herb, lemon and elderflower marinade to add a subtle citrus flavour.

Easy
June 2016

Test kitchen approved

Serves 10
Hands-on time 20 min, oven time 50 min

What could be more impressive than serving up a whole salmon for dinner party guests? We’ve used a herb, lemon and elderflower marinade to add a subtle citrus flavour.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 485kcals
Fat: 32.7g (5.8g saturated)
Protein: 37.2g
Carbohydrates: 6.5g (6.1g sugars)
Fibre: 0.9g
Salt: 0.2g

Save recipe

Save

Save recipe Print

Rate

Ingredients

2kg whole salmon, gutted and descaled (ask your fishmonger to do this for you)
Finely grated zest and juice 2 lemons
Large bunch each fresh parsley, dill and tarragon, roughly chopped
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
200ml dry white wine
100ml elderflower cordial

Cook Mode Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Pat the fish dry and make sure all the scales have been removed. Using a sharp knife, slash each side of the fish 3-4 times about 5cm apart.
Put 3 layers of foil, big enough to enclose the fish, in the tin. In a mixing bowl, combine the lemon zest, herbs and oil. Season, then rub the herb mixture all over the fish and inside it. Lay the fish on the foil and bring up the sides to form a container. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fish. Pour the wine and elderflower cordial into the foil, then seal to create a parcel.
Roast for 50 minutes, then check the fish is fully cooked: make a small cut along the backbone at the head end. If the flesh comes away easily from the bones, it’s cooked. Drizzle with olive oil and bring to the table. To serve, peel away the skin and carefully lift the flesh off the bones in large pieces. When the meat from the uppermost side has gone, lift the tail and prise away the whole skeleton in one move to get at the meat on the other side.