chef john’s baked lemon-pepper salmon

prep time: 10 min. + 30 min. marinate      cook time: 8-10 min.      total time: about 50 minutes      yields 4 servings

ingredients
3 T lemon juice
1-2 T ground black pepper
3 T mayonnaise
4 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes)
5 (8-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1.25 in. thick), boned, with skin on
sea salt to taste

directions

1. whisk together lemon juice, black pepper, mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne/red pepper flakes in a small bowl. spread mixture over fillets on a plate.
2. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. preheat oven to 450*F. line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with oil to prevent sticking.
4. transfer fillets to prepared baking sheet. try not to let lemon-pepper mix pool around base of fillets, if possible.
5. sprinkle with sea salt and bake until salmon just flakes with a fork, 8-10 minutes.

source – allrecipes.com magazine, pg. 13