This is a meal that is in my weekly rotation, and I’ve been meaning to share it on here for a long time. I went back through my phone to upload the photos for this post, as I remember shooting this dish and drafting the recipe last year. Weirdly enough, these photos are from March 1, 2020. It’s funny to think about what life was like then - I had just moved into my own apartment and I remember being really busy with work because we had a big campaign launching later that week. I ran out of time to finish typing up the recipe on the weekend, and then the next two weeks were a bit of a blur. Between work and the changing world around us, I remember feeling overwhelmed by everything. I definitely had a lot of time in those first few weeks of lockdown to finish this recipe, but I did not have the motivation to work on anything long-form. So here we are, almost a year later, with the recipe ready to share and a bizarre feeling thinking about how different life was before the pandemic.
This dish was a go-to meal growing up, we probably ate it once a week in the summer. The mango salsa is so fresh, it pairs perfectly with the fatty salmon. Sometimes in the summer, we would do the fish on the BBQ in tin foil packets, with salt and pepper, lemon slices on top. Although it’s a summer dish, I enjoy this year-round to bring some brightness to my week.
Salmon is a great fish for carrying a lot of flavour, and it doesn’t taste too “fishy”. The salsa is so colourful, and since it’s packed with flavour you don’t need to do much to the salmon (just salt and pep!). I sometimes double the salsa recipe so that I have leftovers, which are great to top tacos or use as a dip with tortilla chips. The salsa will hold up well in the fridge for multiple days (3-5). You could add in some diced avocado as well to add in some creaminess if having it as a dip.
Here are a few tips and alternatives for the recipe:
Salmon:
If you can, try to source local and Oceanwise labelled fish. The recipe also works great with other pink-fleshed fish like trout if you live far from the ocean.
Mango:
If you aren’t able to source a ripe mango, you could also swap in pineapple. I would say half a fresh pineapple would yield roughly the same amount as a mango.
To slice a mango, I follow this method here: slice straight on each side of the pit, then run the knife into a grid in the flesh (without piercing the skin) and scoop out from the skin.
Red pepper:
Adds a gentle spice to the salsa, a bit of bite to cut through the sweetness of the mango. You could swap in another coloured pepper, like orange or yellow. I would avoid green since it will add a really different flavour.
Red onion:
If you don’t have a red onion on hand, a shallot would work great. I have also made this salsa using green onion, just ensure you use the whole thing (including the white part) to get that sharp onion flavour.
Cilantro:
If you are cilantro-adverse, you could fully omit or you could switch in another soft herb like parsley or mint.
How to serve:
I love this with steamed rice, and a roasted green veggie, like broccoli or asparagus. I like to fluff my rice with a little bit of coconut oil and salt and pepper for a gentle coconut flavour with the fish.
Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa
Serves 4, 30 mins
Ingredients:
4 fresh Atlantic salmon portions (or other pink fish of your choice - trout works great too!)
1 mango, diced
½ a red pepper, diced
¼ a red onion, finely diced
¼ cup of fresh cilantro (optional), finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime (roughly 2 tbsp lime juice)
¼ tsp kosher salt
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Place fish fillets on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or another oven safe dish. Lightly season with salt and pepper right before putting in the oven (do not do this too early or your fish will break down)
Meanwhile, mix together all of the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust your seasoning - if it tastes too sweet add a little more salt until the savouriness of the pepper and onion comes through.
Cook the salmon until opaque and flaky, about 15-20 minutes depending on how thick the salmon is. I like to test my salmon with a cake tester to see how easily it flakes. It should flake without much pressure.
Remove salmon from the oven and serve with rice, topped with mango salsa. I prefer the salsa room temperature or cool from the fridge.