Chilli Lime Baked Salmon

Ingredients

• 2 salmon fillets
• low calorie cooking spray
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 /2 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp orange blossom water
• 1 /2 tbsp granulated sweetener
• black pepper
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 3 limes
• Buttered new potatoes, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C fan and rub a large baking tray with olive oil. The oven needs to be properly hot before the tray goes in — that's how you get charred edges on the peppers in 15 minutes flat.
2. In a bowl, whisk the lime juice with the crushed garlic, chopped chilli, ground cumin, orange blossom water, sweetener, olive oil and a good grind of black pepper. The cumin will bloom in the hot oven once the tray hits the heat — raw spices taste dusty, but a stint in oil and heat brings them alive.
3. Tip in the diced red and green peppers, red onion and courgette, and toss until every piece is glossy with the marinade. Season with a generous pinch of salt — the vegetables need it now, not later.
4. Spread the vegetables across the tray in a single even layer. Don't crowd them — pile them up and they steam instead of roast, and you'll lose the charred edges that make this dish. Nestle the salmon fillets on top, spoon a little of the tray marinade over each one, and season the fish generously with salt and pepper before it hits the oven.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, until the salmon flakes easily under a fork and the peppers are softened with charred edges. The garlic in the marinade is protected by the lime juice and oil — it won't burn, but watch it doesn't catch on the tray edges where it sits dry; if you see it going past pale gold, pull the tray. Burnt garlic turns the whole thing bitter.
6. If you want the vegetables more collapsed, lift the salmon onto a warm plate to rest and give the tray another 4–5 minutes. Taste a piece of pepper before serving — adjust for salt now, not at the table.
7. Plate the salmon over the peppers and courgette, scatter generously with chopped parsley, tuck the buttered new potatoes alongside, and finish with a squeeze of lime over each fillet — the acid lifts the cumin and cuts through the richness of the fish.