Barbecued wild Alaska salmon with chilli, lemon and herbs

Fire up the barbie to create this wonderful salmon dish or if the weather’s looking cloudy just grill instead!

serves 4

Ingredients

4 x 175g (6 oz) wild Alaska salmon fillets
40g (1 ½ oz) butter
2 teaspoons light or dark muscovado sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon rind
1 mild fresh red chilli, deseeded and sliced, or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary or savoury or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 large courgette, thickly sliced
2 peppers, deseeded and halved
4 sprigs of small tomatoes on the vine
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
 

To make

1. Preheat the barbecue or grill
2. Melt the butter and stir in the sugar, lemon zest and juice and fresh chilli or dried chilli flakes.  Strip the leaves from the sprigs of thyme, rosemary or savoury and add to the butter baste  - or just add the dried thyme.
3. If barbecuing the salmon place each fillet on a large sheet of foil, brush with baste, season, then wrap and close.  Cook over the barbecue coals for 10-15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.  If grilling, arrange the fillets on the grill pan and cook under a preheated grill for 3-4 minutes on each side.  When cooked, the flesh should be opaque and the fish should flake when tested with a fork.
4. At the same time, barbecue or grill the courgette and peppers until beginning to char, adding the tomatoes for the final few minutes. 
5. Serve the salmon with the vegetables, drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil.