Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground pepperto taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat a heavy, ovenproof skillet over high heat, and add the olive oil.
Brush some olive oil over each piece of salmon, and season with salt and pepper. Add them to the pan skin side down (if relevant). Allow to sear, without moving, in the pan for about 3 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast for 5 to 8 minutes, until done to your liking (check out this video, it’s so helpful).
While the salmon is cooking, in a small container combine the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, tarragon, shallots, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Shake to blend well.
Transfer the fish to a serving platter or individual plates. Shake the vinaigrette to remix, then pour it over the fish. Serve hot or warm.
Notes
Tips for Cooking Salmon
I love starting fish in a pan (make sure your fish is fairly thick, about 1-inch or even thicker), then transferring it to a stove to finish cooking. Here’s are the three main reasons why:1) You can use the oven to cook something else to go with the fish – whether it be roasted potatoes or other vegetables.2) Starting the fish in the pan means that if you are cooking fish with skin on it, you can get that pan screaming hot before you add the fish, so that when the skin hits the pan it starts to crisp up immediately, and then stays crisp and delicious and great to eat. Soft fish skin = not good. Crisp fish skin = a truly fabulous counterpoint to a well cooked soft, delicate fish3) You don’t have to flip the fish, which even for the most confident and experienced cooks doesn’t always end well.