This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
So this her ‘jump in your mouth salmon’ and although she usually serves it with gremolata potatoes, I used steamed samphire and peas instead to give it a CountryWives’ twist (and less carbohydrates)…
Jump in the mouth salmon
Ingredients serves 4
8 slices of prosciutto or pancetta
4 x 125g • 4½ oz salmon fillets, preferably skinless
16 good-sized fresh sage leaves, plus extra to serve
vegetable oil
Samphire
Frozen peas
How to prepare
Time from start to finish: about 20 minutes
Lay two slices of prosciutto or pancetta on a board, overlapping lengthways. Sit a piece of salmon, curved side up, near one short edge. Season with salt and pepper and arrange three sage leaves along the length of the fish. Roll the prosciutto around the salmon until completely wrapped. Repeat until all four are wrapped (the remaining sage leaves will get used shortly).
Put a large frying pan on a high heat and add a little oil. Once hot, add the fillets, sage-leaf side down, turn the heat to medium and leave them to cook for about 3 minutes.
While the fish cooks, throw in the remaining sage leaves. They crisp up in seconds. Then remove them with tongs or a slotted spoon on to kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil. Now flip the salmon over and leave to cook for another 6 minutes on the other side.
To check the salmon is cooked, cut a little slit through to the centre. The flesh should be just turning opaque and pale pink all the way through. If so, remove the pan from the heat.
Meanwhile steam the samphire and peas for about 2 minutes, drain and add butter, then divide among four plates. Top with salmon and the remaining crisp sage leaves.