Roasted Salmon with Soba Noodles and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• 2-inch piece of ginger, unpeeled and thinly sliced
• 8 whole star anise
• 1/2 cup light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 8-4 oz. pieces of salmon filet
• 1 oz. dried seaweed — arame, hijiki, or fine wakame
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves
• 1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 10 oz. dried soba noodles
• 1/4 sesame oil
• 3 Tbs. rice vinegar
• 5 scallions, green and white part, finely sliced on the diagonal
• coarse salt to taste

Directions

Remove any bones from the salmon and place in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Mix together the ginger, star anise, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil and pour over the salmon. Leave it to marinate for 2 hours, turning it twice during that time.

Meanwhile, make the salads. Place the seaweed in a heatproof bowl and pour on enough hot water to cover. Leave for 30 minutes, then drain it and mix it with the cilantro leaves.

Place the cucumber in a separate bowl with the rice vinegar and sugar. Stir well and set aside.

To make the noodles, bring 2 quarts of water to the boil in a deep saucepan. Add the noodles, and stir gently. Bring back to a boil and add 1 cup of cold water to the pan. Again, bring it to a boil, and add another cup of cold water. When it comes to the boil again, test a noodle — it should be “al dente”. Drain the noodles in a colander, and gently run cold water over them, tossing carefully.

When they are cold, place them in a bowl and toss them with sesame oil, rice vinegar, scallions and salt.

When the fish is ready to cook, heat the oven to 425 degrees and place a ceramic heatproof dish in the oven to warm through. Brush the dish with a little sesame oil, then put in the salmon, skin side down, and pour the marinade over it. Place it in the top third of the oven and cook for just 8 minutes — salmon is best served medium to rare. Remove it from the oven and leave it to sit for a few minutes before you serve it.

Squeeze the excess liquid from the seaweed, cut into 1/2-inch strips if large, and add to the soba noodles. Place one eighth of the noodles onto eight plates. Place a piece of salmon on each plate of noodles drizzle over a tablespoon of the cooking juices. Pile the cucumber on top and pour over some of the cucumber juices.