Tomato sauce spiked with Tabasco sauce, fresh basil and thyme makes a delicious coating for this beautiful dsh. I have cooked it 2 ways, one in foil and the other straight on the barbecue. Cooking in foil made it a little moister, but cooking straight on the barbecue gave the salmon a lovely crispy coating wih a sronger barbecue flavour. The choice is yours.

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, thyme and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 4 sundried tomatoes in oil, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce or puree
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 kilogram whole side of fresh salmon

Method

1. In a bowl, mix together the dried herbs and pepper, parsley, sundried tomatoes, Tabasco and tomato sauces, lemon juice and spring onion.
2. Rub this mixture all over the salmon flesh. Place in a large dish or on a plate and set aside for an hour before cooking.
3. Heat the barbecue to moderately hot and brush liberally with good olive oil. Place the salmon topping-side down onto the hotplate and cook for 7 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for 7-8 until the salmon is still a little pink on the inside. You can see this by looking at the end of the salmon or just parting the flesh a little. To cook in foil, wrap the salmon in foil and cook on the barbecue at the same heat for the same length of time. Cooking time will vary, depending on the thickness of the salmon steaks. Don't overcook the salmon as it is much better a fraction underdone. It will be moist and sweet. Overcooked salmon becomes quite dry and tough.

Cooks Tips

- Try using salmon steaks in place of the whole large fillet.