Salsa Salmon

Salmon is best when it’s slightly underdone, with a pink, warm center. One way to tell is to use a fork to fl ake the meat. Another is to insert a fl atware knife into the meat at the thickest part, hold the knife there for 5 seconds, then touch the side of the blade to your lips: it should feel warm, not cool or hot. In this recipe, roasting salmon under fresh salsa keeps the meat incredibly moist.

Canola oil for the baking sheet

One 2-pound king (or chinook), coho (or silver), sockeye (or red), or Atlantic salmon fi llet, skin on or off, left whole or cut the short way into 4 equal pieces

2 medium tomatoes, quartered

1 medium shallot, quartered

1 serrano chile, halved and seeded

1 garlic clove, halved

2 teaspoons lime juice

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Several dashes of hot red pepper sauce to taste

• Lightly oil a large baking sheet or roasting pan. Place the salmon fi llet or fi llets skin side down (or former skin side down) in the pan. Set aside.
• Place the tomatoes, shallot, serrano chile, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and hot red pepper sauce in a food processor fi tted with the chopping blade. Pulse until coarsely ground, like a chunky salsa. If you prefer an even chunkier salsa, chop all these vegetables by hand; some will remain crunchy after baking.
• Spoon over the exposed salmon fl esh, spreading it to the sides. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Take the salmon out of the refrigerator while the oven preheats.
• Uncover and bake until hot, until the meat can be pulled into opaque, moist layers with a fork, about 12 minutes for individual pieces or 25 minutes if the fi llet has been left whole. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings