Bridget Jones’s pan-fried salmon with pine-nut salsa

The Ottolenghi recipe made famous by Bridget Jones herself. We love to serve this with some homemade sweet potato wedges.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

100g currants
4 salmon fillets, skin on and pin-boned
100ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
4 celery sticks, cut into 1cm dice, leaves removed but reserved to garnish
30g pine nuts, roughly chopped
40g capers, plus 2 tbsp of their brine
40g large green olives (about 8 in total), pitted and cut into 1cm dice
1 good pinch saffron threads (¼ tsp), mixed with 1 tbsp hot water
20g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 lemon – zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, then juiced, to get 1 tsp

METHOD

Cover the currants with boiling water and leave to soak for 20 minutes while you prep the salmon and make the salsa.

Mix the salmon with two teaspoons of oil, a third of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper.

Put 75ml olive oil in a large saute pan and place on a high heat. Add the celery and pine nuts, and fry for four to five minutes, stirring frequently, until the nuts begin to brown (don’t take your eyes off them, because they burn easily). Take the pan off the heat and stir in the capers and their brine, the olives, saffron and its water, and a pinch of salt. Drain the currants and add these with the parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Put the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and place on a medium-high heat. Once hot, lay in the salmon fillets skin side down and fry for three minutes, until the skin is crisp. Turn down the heat to medium, flip over the fillets and fry for two to four minutes more (timings will depend on how much you like the salmon cooked), then remove from the pan.

Arrange the cooked salmon on four plates and spoon over the salsa. If you have any, scatter the reserved celery leaves on top, and serve.

Recipe credit: Ottolenghi – Simple

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