It is hard to beat salmon on the grill, crusty skin and tender center still slightly pink. On the downside it does require careful watching and can overcook with even an additional 30 seconds on a hot BBQ or grill pan. This recipe for slow roast salmon is very forgiving, and you can walk away. You will have time to serve the bruschetta and have a glass of wine with your guests.
The recipe is adapted from the SF Chronicle archives. I used a mix of herbs, heavy on the lemon verbena but with the addition of lemon thyme, chives, and an Italian calamint (member of the mint family which has flavors of oregano, mint and basil).
Herbs for lemon verbena pesto
Slow Roast Salmon with Lemon Verbena Herb Pesto
- 1 cup of washed and packed mixed fresh herbs such as lemon verbena leaves, sorrel, chives, mint, chervil and thyme.
- 2 shallots, peeled
- 4-6 tablespoons of olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 4 fillets (4-6 oz) or 1 larger (about 1.5 lbs) fillet of salmon, skin on
Lemon Verbena Pesto
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Combine the shallots and herbs in a food processor. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper. Process to a paste.
- Rub the paste over the cut surfaces of the salmon.
- Place the salmon, skin side down, on a non-stick or parchment lined roasting dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes for smaller fillets, up to 45 minutes for a single larger one. The fish should be translucent in the center but opaque.
Salmon with lemon verbena pesto
I’m taking this to share with the gang at Fiesta Friday #70. I didn’t get to party last week and am looking forward to seeing what everyone has been up to. Please come join us at Angie’s.
Fiesta Friday
What a beautiful piece of fish! I love fresh salmon and will be making this pesto to go with it!
Thanks Julie, I think you will enjoy it.
I’ve stuffed up the cooking time so many times for salmon on a grill so this is a great almost foolproof cooking method – thanks!
Isn’t it always tricky timing on the grill? We stand around the grill asking each other “What do you think? Now? Too soon?” and in the time it takes to ask the questions, the salmon overcooks.
Ha ha – I’ve been there!
OMG – did I just read lemon herbena, and salmon, in one sentence? What an amazing idea – I’ll have to give this a go soon!
Hi Ginger, it works very well. Try lemon verbena in a herb mix, it’s a step away from the usual tea or sweet recipes using it.
I was going to use it in a cocktail next … once it gets a little warmer here!
Saw this on Fiesta Friday and my tummy started rumbling! What a great-looking meal, love salmon.
Me too! And it is soooo good for you. Thank you for visiting.
What a lovely mixture of herbs! The lemon emphasis sounds perfect with the salmon. I’d really like to try growing some lemon verbena…I think I’ve seen it in tea before and it sounds like it would be fun to bake with.
It grows very easily in a pot in a sunny area. I have two plants and they come back every year. It makes a very good tea which is supposed to be calming. I’ve also seen it in cakes although I haven’t tried it.
I am drooling over here! I have been telling my husband how much I miss eating a perfectly cooked salmon (sadly, it’s hard to find fresh salmon in Missouri! ) I love the beautiful herb pesto! It looks absolutely absolutely delicious!! I will definitely be saving this recipe and using it first thing I get my hands on some beautiful salmon!
Thank you so much for the recipe! Happy FF! 🙂
It was really good, worth saving. Missouri is supposed to have some great fishing (maybe not salmon but others). I wonder what the sauce would be like with a fresh water fish. You need something fairly strong flavored.
I planted lemon verbena at the allotment and had to dig it out as it was taking over everything! Never once did I think of making your delicious pesto! And with salmon, am getting hungry over here! 🙂
When it finds a place, it does tend to sprawl. Both my plants are in pots and I cut them back rather brutally each year.
Love salmon and especially like your idea of lemon verbena pesto. I just planted mine – it never makes it through the cold Michigan winters so I have to plant a new one every year. Love the flavor and smell of this herb 🙂
That’s too bad, but it grows quickly. Mine dies back each year to being just twigs but then sprouts again.
I have the same problem with herbs as Juju – I bring some inside and hope not to kill them off, but I invariably suffer many losses and have to start from scratch!
We are lucky that it grows quickly.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the Salmon, didn’t I? haha! It looks lovely and sounds so fresh. It’s also a bit of an inspiration to me to mix things up a bit and not wait until a recipe calls for a certain herb – maybe it’s the herb that’s calling out for a recipe!
I like that! An herb waiting and calling for a recipe. Thank you.