Roasted Salmon Fillets with a Crusted Pecorino and Pesto Topping

10 minutes

Serves 2

This recipe is from Delia's Complete How to Cook.

This recipe, invented by my good friend Lin Cooper, started life under the grill, but now, in my attempt to more or less eliminate the grill, I'm happy to say that it cooks very happily and easily in a high oven.

One word of warning, though: it works much better with fresh pesto sauce from supermarkets than it does with the bottled kind.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch Delia's method for shallow frying fish, just click on the recipe image to play.

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Method

Begin by trimming the fillets if needed, and run your hand over the surface of the fish to check that there aren't any stray bones lurking.

Now place the fish on the prepared baking tray and give each one a good squeeze of lemon juice and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Next, give the pesto a good stir and measure 2 tablespoons into a small bowl, mix one-third of the breadcrumbs with it to form a paste and spread this over both fish fillets. Then, mix half the cheese with the remaining breadcrumbs and scatter this over the pesto, then finish off with the remaining cheese.

Now place the baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 10 minutes, by which time the top should be golden brown and crispy and the salmon just cooked and moist. Serve with steamed new potatoes.