This Is the Secret to the Best Roasted Salmon

There are so, so many ways you can prepare salmon, from giving it a sear in a skillet to lightly charring it on the grill. On this week's episode of Mad Genius: Home Edition, Food & Wine Culinary Director-at-Large Justin Chapple offers "the most delicious, succulent salmon you've ever had"—the secret? Low and slow roasting. Enter his recipe for slow-roasted salmon with walnut-olive vinaigrette, a recipe that comes together in just under an hour and only has two steps. It's a simple meal that's ideal for when you want high flavor impact with low effort (and not to mention, incredibly tender salmon). Keep reading for Justin's step-by-step method and follow along with the video above.

Marinate and Roast

After seasoning both sides of the salmon, place it in a baking dish.The marinade, consisting of extra-virgin olive oil, smoked paprika, lemon zest, and lemon juice, goes on next. Then, take the side of salmon and roast it in a 325°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes—the low temperature and longer cook time will "allow the fat to render really gently," he says. Don't forget to baste it every 10 minutes with the lemon-paprika liquid so that it stays juicy.

Prepare Your Vinaigrette

Once the salmon is done cooking, it needs to rest for five minutes. In the meantime, you can make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar), extra-virgin olive oil, flat-leaf parsley, toasted walnuts, and both types of olives in a small bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper. If you'd like to get a head-start on the recipe, you can make the vinaigrette two days ahead of time and store it in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy

After the salmon has rested and your vinaigrette is ready, you're all set to serve it. Transfer the salmon from the baking dish to a large platter (or, leave it in the baking dish if you'd prefer) and spoon the vinaigrette on top, drizzling a little of the reserved paprika-oil mixture as well. Feel free to eat it warm or at room temperature—either way, you're in for a treat.

"That is so succulent," Justin says." One of the things I love most is that the salmon stands up so nicely with those robust olives and those crunchy, nutty walnuts. I mean, this is a platter of big, bold flavors. Who knew that slow-roasting and just a few ingredients can make a masterpiece like this?"