Ottolenghi’s Bridget Jones’s Pan-Fried Salmon with Pine Nut Salsa

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

I’ve never been the type of person who chooses a bottle of wine or a chocolate bar based on the label alone. Until now, that is. If you’ve seen the movie Bridget Jones’s Baby, this flavor-packed salmon will immediately ring a bell. And now, thanks to Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Simple, you can recreate it at home.

Ingredients

3/4 cup dried currants
4 (4 to 5 ounce) skin-on salmon fillets
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 medium celery stalks, leaves removed but kept for garnish, stalks cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup pine nuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup brined capers
2 tablespoons caper brine
1/3 cup large green olives (about 8), pitted and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads mixed with 1 tablespoon hot water
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Place the currants in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside to soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prep the salmon and make the salsa.
Drizzle the salmon with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season with a rounded 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Set aside while you make the salsa.
Heat 5 tablespoons of the oil into a large sauté pan over high heat until shimmering. Add the diced celery and pine nuts and fry, stirring frequently, until the nuts begin to brown (don't take your eyes off them, as they can easily burn), 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the capers, caper brine, olives, saffron and its water, and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Drain the currants. Add the currants, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and stir to combine; set aside.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and fry until the skin is crisp, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, then flip the fillets over and continue to fry for 2 to 4 minutes (depending on how much you like the salmon cooked). Remove from the pan and set aside.
Arrange the salmon on four plates and spoon on the salsa. Scatter the celery leaves on top.
Recipes and photographs reprinted from Ottolenghi SIMPLE. Copyright © 2018 by Yotam Ottolenghi. Photographs copyright © 2018 by Jonathan Lovekin. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.