Lemon Butter Baked Salmon, Tagliatelle and Parsley

Preparation time 25 minutes
Serves 4
50g (2oz) butter
finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 175g (6oz) salmon fillets, skinned
350g (12oz) dried tagliatelle
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

This dish is so simple yet so tasty. If you've got time, you could use home-made pasta here; if not, dried thin tagliatelle or linguine will do a fabulous job. What make this dish so good are the salmon juices, which mingle with the butter and lemon in the oven, so when you're pouring them over the pasta, use a spatula to scrape out every last drop.

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

2 Melt the butter in a small roasting tin and add the lemon rind and juice. Season with plenty of salt and pepper.

3 Lay the salmon fillets in the roasting tin and turn them around in the lemony butter, ending up skinned-side down. Place in the oven for 7-8 minutes until cooked through but still moist inside.

To test whether the salmon is done, give the fattest part a gentle squeeze and it should give slightly - if it's still wobbly, pop it back into the oven for another couple of minutes. If it feels solid, it's overcooked.

4 Meanwhile, throw the pasta into a large pan of boiling salted water and cook according to the packet instructions until al dente.

Take the salmon out of the roasting tin and place on a warmed plate. Drain the pasta, mix with the lemony buttery juices collected in the salmon roasting tin and add the parsley.

Divide the parsley between four warmed plates. Set the baked salmon fillet on top and tuck in!
Copyright Nick Nairn 2002