Recipe from: Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers of the River Cafe
preparation time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 20 minutes

1 x 3.6 kg (8lb) whole salmon, scaled and cleaned
Halen Mon salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh fennel leaves and stalks, washed
5 - 6 kg (11 - 13 lb) natural coarse sea salt

Preheat your oven to 220°C. Season the salmon well with salt and pepper on the inside only. Fill the gut cavity with fresh fennel leaves and stalks. Cover the bottom of a large roasting tray with a layer of salt lcm deep. Place the salmon on the salt. Pile the salt over the fish so that it is completely covered by at least 1 cm all over. Do not worry if the head and tail protrude. Sprinkle a few tablepoons of water over the surface of the salt. Place the salmon in the hot oven and bake for about 20 minutes. To test if the fish is cooked, pierce the salt with a skewer and into the fish at a place where the fish is thickest. If it is warm, the salmon is cooked. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool to a temperature you can handle. Break off the salt crust from the top of the fish; the skin should have stuck to the salt and will come away as you do this. Gently lift the whole fish out of the roasting tray. Peel away any skin and salt stuck to the underside and place the fish on a board. Pull the fillets off the bones. Serve at room temperature with basil mayonnaise or anchovy and caper mayonnaise or Salsa Verde.