Excerpted from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi. Copyright © 2024 by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller, and Tara Wigley. Photographs by Jonathan Lovekin. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
| Difficulty | Portions | Cook time |
|---|---|---|
| Novice | 4 | 105 minutes |
Ingredients
- ¼ cup/30g pine nuts
- Quick-pickled shallots:
- 2 large shallots, thinly sliced (2⁄3 cup/80g)
- 1⁄3 cup/80ml lemon juice
- Zucchini:
- 6 large zucchini, coarsely grated (about 10 cups/1kg)
- ¼ cup/60ml olive oil
- salt and black pepper
- Salmon:
- 4 x 4½ oz/130g salmon fillets, skin on
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups/80g arugula
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the pine nuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10–12 minutes, until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Place the shallots and lemon juice in a small bowl or jar, along with the salt. Stir to combine and dissolve the salt, then set aside.
- Place the zucchini in a large bowl and mix in 2 teaspoons of salt. It will seem like a lot, but much of it gets released when the liquid is squeezed out. Tip the zucchini into a colander, sitting on top of a mixing bowl (or in the sink) to catch the juices. Let rest for about 30 minutes, then squeeze firmly to remove excess juice—you should get around ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp/200ml of liquid, which can be discarded.
- Put the oil into a medium saucepan and place on medium heat. Add the drained zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes—stirring regularly and adding a good crack of pepper during the last 5 minutes of cooking—until the zucchini turn into a loose, silky paste.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
- Place the salmon on a parchment-lined baking sheet, skin side down. Drizzle with the oil and season with ½ teaspoon of salt (in total) and a good grind of pepper. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fillets are just cooked through (or a couple of minutes longer, if you prefer), then remove from the oven. Set aside for about 15 minutes—the salad is best eaten warm or at room temperature (rather than piping hot).
- When ready to serve, scatter the arugula over the bottom of a large serving plate. Spoon about three-quarters of the zucchini on top, then, breaking it up as you go, add the salmon. Spoon the remaining zucchini around the salmon and gently scatter the shallots over the salad. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and serve.