Baked Salmon with Chipotle Homemade Adobo

I chose this recipe for my Christmas Menu because I like to offer something a bit different on my table but also eating fun food makes me feel excited about cooking! the simplicity of it it’s a plus and still feels every bit festive and special for the holidays.

No jarred or tin chipotle adobo here , I like to make my own adobo from scratch and I find two things: one that it tastes much better but also I know what goes into it and just adding that bit of extra love that we put into making something from scratch for our loved ones is to me what makes the holidays special.

I must say also I do get a bit tired of seeing the same kind of recipes out there, I’m a traditional person but to me the holidays is the opportunity to have fun in the kitchen and enjoy cooking, try something maybe a bit different, and it’s totally cool to mix a bit of the old with the new.

Something I really admired of my Mum’s and Dad’s cooking that even though they kept special recipes from their family, they also made new ones to share with me and my siblings, so we have a bit of both to cherish and pass on to our kids.

Also I think is very important to involve kids or your family in the kitchen not only is a life skill but is valuable time and time for bonding with them plus building their confidence , if you have older kids even better more helping hands and appreciation for the food that comes to the table during such a special time.

Just one last thing if you accompany this delicious piece of salmon with spinach and chile verde tortillas it’s even better!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

900 grams approx, whole piece of salmon, with skin on.

Adobo ingredients.

400 grams of cherry tomatoes.

1/2 white onion.

1 - 2 dried chipotle chilles.

3 black garlic cloves.

1 tsp ground guajillo.

1 tsp smoked paprika.

1 tsp tamari sauce.

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar.

1/4 cup of olive oil.

1 tbsp of agave syrup.

1 tsp whole black peppercorns.

1 tsp sea salt.

1/2 white onion.

1/2 fennel piece.

1 Meyer lemon or regular lemon.

Maldon salt and black coarse pepper to season.

Method.

Preheat oven at 180C

The first thing is to make the chipotle adobo, so get your chipotle chilli and remove the stem place it whole in a small baking dish, add the cherry tomatoes on top and the onion, place the dish into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.

Note: By doing this is not necessary to hydrate the dried chipotle chilli as it cooks and softens up underneath the tomato juices.

Once your veggies are roasted and your chilli has soften up under the juices, remove from the oven and pour it all into a food processor, whizz up as smooth as you can and add the rest of the ingredients to make the adobo, blend again until all the ingredients are combined, reserve.

Get a big baking dish and line it with parchment paper, place your piece of salmon (preferably wild alaskan salmon), pat dry with some paper towels and pour half of the adobo on top, spread all over the surface of your fish.

Then shave finely the white onion, as well as the fennel bulb and lemon slices, make sure they cover all the surface of your salmon, season with maldon salt and black coarse pepper, add a little drizzle of olive oil and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes depending on your oven.

Bake at 180 C for 25 minutes.

Serve in a beautiful platter in the middle of the table, don’t forget to serve the rest of the adobo on the side as well and if you decide to make the amazing spinach and Chile verde tortillas just check how delicious these tacos look below.

Happy Cooking.