Baked salmon with meyer lemon and dill

baked salmon with meyer lemon and dill // a thousand threads
I’ve mentioned before that I grew up on the coast, and in Oregon that means a love of two things: fog and fish. Fish taste, fish smell, salty air and a dusty fog that greets you with a smile damn near every day… that’s what life is made of, even if the fog does lead to a grey, drizzly afternoon, and going fishing almost always means putting on the warmest clothes you have.

So when I moved east, and ever so slightly away from the coast, I was surprised to find both how often people mistake fog for smog (and how often I mistake smog for fog… man I’m desperate to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but SLC, I don’t know about you) and how many people just totally despise fish! Especially the fish that actually tastes like fish… like the poor old salmons of the world.

Now, my first reaction would be to say, “More for me!” but I feel bad… because if you’re not loving the salmon like I am I have to tell you, you’re really missing out.

Mark is one of you anti-fish folks… so naturally I’ve been working to convert him since we met.

And so far it’s going pretty well! That is, until we get to salmon… or let’s just say all of the fish that tastes like fish.

But what if it didn’t? What if you took the best, most fresh piece of salmon and infused it with lots and lots of lemon flavor so that all was left was that creamy, delicious fatty salmon flavor… without so much of all of that fish.

baked salmon with meyer lemon and dill // a thousand threads
The thing is, as a kid on the coast, people don’t really ask you if you want to try the fish. It’s not a question. You eat it, you like it, and that’s that. Broccoli, sure… be picky. The cartoons told you that the green stuff was gross. But fish? No. Everybody likes fish.

And as a kid, salmon was my favorite. But when I think back I realize that I drowned almost every piece in at least a whole lemon. It masked whatever it was that might’ve turned me off, and made me love what was left. Simple as that.

So this is my pathetic, coastal plea… maybe you don’t like salmon. Maybe you venture only as far as tilapia and draw a firm line. But if you haven’t tried it in a while, or you’ve never tried it fresh (in my experience most restaurants on the east coast serve the worst salmon in the world, so… just keep listening for at least a minute more…) go out and buy the freshest piece of salmon you can find and try it like this.

If you still don’t like it then, okay… I tried (that’s our rule for Austin too…). But I tried because I love it so much, and I want you to love it too.

Isn’t that a worthy cause?

Don’t you want to run out and buy a piece of salmon now?

I thought so… now chop-chop. There’s no time to waste!

baked salmon with meyer lemon and dill // a thousand threads
Baked salmon with meyer lemon and dill
Serves 3-4

1.5 lbs very fresh salmon
3-4 meyer lemons
4-5 sprigs dill

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray inside of a large piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray and place salmon inside. Drape whole sprigs of dill on top, then arrange slices of lemon, reserving at least one whole lemon for later.

Fold aluminum foil to a close and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until salmon is cooked through.

Remove from oven, slice, and serve each piece with a few slices of fresh lemon on the side.

baked salmon with meyer lemon and dill // a thousand threads

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