Salmon in Fig Leaves
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 12-pound king-salmon fillet, skinned
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 8large fig leaves
- Fennel fronds, preferably wild
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the salmon into 6 equal portions. Coat lightly with olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Step 2
Wash the fig leaves, and leave them moistened. Place 4 on a baking sheet, and lay the salmon pieces on top. Scatter small pieces of fennel frond on top of the fish, and cover with the remaining fig leaves. Bake in the upper part of the oven until the fish is just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer the salmon to a serving platter immediately. Serve with blanched new potatoes and green beans, tomatoes, cucumber, hard-cooked eggs and aioli.
Private Notes
Comments
I grew a fig tree for the leaves.
For many years, I have charcoal grilled fish wrapped in leaves, the recipe is in Paul Bertoli's cookbook. He is a former Chez Panisse chef.
Well, funnily enough here in Georgia we have a fig tree in our yard. And I cooked this dish this evening. And I must say, except that the leaves probably kept the fish nice and moist, there was not a huge taste impact. Also, took quite a bit longer than 10-12 minutes.
I'd have to trespass on a grouch neighbor's property to get fig leaves. So I used parchment paper and then drizzled the salmon with a little bit of fig balsamic vinegar.
I've made this for decades. Snip the leaf stems. Optional to blanch them (they bend more easily), but I just rinse in hot water. Always use skin-on salmon for best flavor; lightly coat it with olive oil, salt and pepper, then wrap and overlap leaves to seal; coat top of leaves lightly with olive oil. Optional: Use toothpicks to secure leaves to fish. I wrap the whole, large filet, not portions. Roast 20 min at 400 till leaves char slightly.
The fig leaves added a subtle but delicious richness to the salmon, plus it just looks beautiful when you’re arranging it. Definitely keep the leaves moist after washing because the salmon will stick to it once it dries out in the oven. But! I have no clue how they cooked it through in such a short time. I cooked the recommended time and it was still raw in the middle. Each oven is different so maybe it’s me, but I had to bake it about twice as long to cook through all the way.
Swapped ~ for what I had on hand ~ Krinos jarred grape leaves for the fig leaves. Dill for the fennel. Served on fluffy white rice with Hollandaise Sauce. The grape leaves crisp up and are a nice textural play in the dish.
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