Crispy Baked Salmon Bites with Rice

Ingredients

• 500g skinless salmon fillets, cut into chunky bites
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 90g panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, zested
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 260g basmati rice, rinsed
• 200g frozen peas
• 15g unsalted butter
• 6 tbsp mayonnaise
• 4 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 15g chives, finely snipped
• Dressed green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Tip the panko into a bowl with the paprika, garlic granules, lemon zest and olive oil, then season generously with salt and black pepper. Rub it all through with your fingers for a minute — you want every crumb lightly slicked with oil so the spices bloom in the oven heat rather than tasting dusty on the finished crust.
2. Pat the salmon bites dry on kitchen paper and season them with salt and pepper before they go anywhere near the flour — water means a soggy crust, and unseasoned fish stays bland no matter what you coat it in. Toss in the flour, shake off the excess, dip in the beaten egg, then press firmly into the seasoned crumbs so every side is well coated.
3. Space the bites out on the tray with a clear gap between each piece. Crowd them and they steam instead of crisp — give them room and the oven air can do its work. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the coating is deep golden, the paprika and garlic smell toasty and fragrant, and the salmon flakes easily at the edges but still looks just-translucent in the middle. It will carry on cooking for a minute off the heat.
4. While the salmon bakes, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the rinsed rice and stir for a minute until every grain looks glossy. Pour in 520 ml boiling water with a good pinch of salt — season the rice now, not at the table — cover, and drop to the lowest heat for 10 minutes. No peeking; you want the steam trapped.
5. Scatter the frozen peas over the rice without stirring, re-cover and cook for 4 minutes, then take off the heat and rest, lid on, for a full 5 minutes before fluffing the peas through with a fork. The rest is what gives you separate grains instead of a sticky clump.
6. Stir the mayonnaise and Greek yoghurt together, then add the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and most of the snipped chives. Taste it — it should feel sharp, fresh and properly seasoned, not heavy. Adjust now with another squeeze of lemon or pinch of salt; this is the dip's only seasoning moment.
7. Pile the pea rice onto plates, sit the crispy salmon bites on top, spoon the lemon-chive dip alongside, scatter the extra chives over everything, and tuck a lemon wedge onto each plate to squeeze over the salmon at the table.