Baked Salmon With A Mediterranean Crumb Crust

I know that the combination of cheese and fish in the same dish is supposed to be a no-no, but food writer Nigel Slate has a recipe for Baked Plaice with Parmesan Crumb which tastes delicious. He also has a  theory that things that 'grow together, go together.'

So when I wanted to make something similar with salmon I used his theory and chose the following Mediterranean ingredients:

Per person:

• One salmon filler
• Three tbs of grated Parmesan cheese
• Two heaped tbs of fresh breadcrumbs
• The zest of half a lemon
• One tbs of finely chopped black olives
• One tbs finely chopped basil leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A little butter or olive oil

Method:

1. Place the fish in a buttered oven proof dish.
2. In a bowl mix together ingredients 2 to 7.
3. Melt the butter and oil and mix into the other ingredients.
4. Combine and place the mixture on top of the fish to form a crust.
5. Bake at 220c/gas mark 7 for about twenty minutes until the fish is cooked and the topping crunchy and golden brown.

I didn't use any salt as the cheese and olives are both quite salty. I also think this would work very well with a little chopped anchovy or capers in keeping with the Mediterranean theme. 

This was delicious with a warm salad of broccoli, green beans and garden peas dressed in lemon juice and the cooking liquor. Topped with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds and lemon zest. Mmmm......

(You can find Nigel Slater's recipe for Baked Plaice with Parmesan Crumb on page 220 of Nigel Slater's Real Food.)

PS I used my homemade spelt bread for the crumbs and this worked really well for me but of course made the topping look darker than had I use white bread, as did the addition of the olives. I think this is a recipe that you can really play around with using all sorts of ingredients and would even work with chicken breast.