Recipe: delicate slow-baked salmon from Canoe’s Anthony Walsh

PREP TIME: 10 minutes BAKE TIME: 12 minutes REFRIGERATION TIME: 16 hours Serves 4

SLOW-BAKED SALMON

1 tsp each toasted fennel, coriander, white pepper and dried chili flakes 3 tbsp kosher salt 2 tbsp each granulated sugar and brown sugar 1 tbsp lemon zest 16 oz wild salmon, centre-cut, skin removed 1 cup grape seed oil 1 small bulb fennel, thinly sliced 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

1. Grind salt, sugars, lemon zest and spices in a mortar and pestle. Cut fish in 8 2-oz fillets. Coat with spice mix and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

2. Rinse fish with cold water. Pat dry and refrigerate in a resealable plastic bag with grape seed oil for another 8 to 12 hours. Gently massage a few times during marinating.

3. Preheat oven to 150º F. Bring fish to room temperature (30 minutes). Place salmon skin side up on top of fennel and onions on a baking sheet. Warm in centre of oven for 12 to 20 minutes. Let fish rest for 5 minutes before serving.

TIP Dress up the wilted fennel and onions by adding sliced Jerusalem artichokes.

ANTHONY WALSH CANOE At home, chef Anthony Walsh has taught his three kids not to fear exotic food—he’s trained their palates on brains and jellyfish. At Canoe, his 54th-storey Financial District institution, he sticks to more local fare, presiding over a kitchen that transforms Canadian staples like lobster rolls, tourtière and wild salmon into haute cuisine. Walsh’s delicate slow-baked salmon is prepared using a grape seed oil marinade and a quick shot in a low-temperature oven to keep the fish moist and supple.

Recipes developed by Victoria Walsh. Recipe photography by Ryan Szulc. Portrait photography by Raina and Wilson. Illustrations by Aleksandar Janicijevic. Interviews by Denise Balkissoon, Ariel Brewster, Andrew D’Cruz, Jennifer Goldberg, Matthew Hague, Claire Hastings, Bronwen Jervis and Simone Olivero.