Lemon Herb Grilled Salmon with Garlic and Fresh Dill
There is a café in Melbourne's Fitzroy neighborhood — the same one where I first had ricotta toast with roasted figs — where the lunch menu changes daily, handwritten on a small chalkboard near the door.
There is a café in Melbourne’s Fitzroy neighborhood — the same one where I first had ricotta toast with roasted figs — where the lunch menu changes daily, handwritten on a small chalkboard near the door. On my second visit, a Tuesday in late autumn, the board read simply: grilled salmon, lemon, herbs, good bread. I ordered it without hesitation. What arrived was a piece of salmon so precisely cooked it seemed almost effortless — the kind of dish that reveals how much technique lives inside apparent simplicity. I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
This lemon herb grilled salmon is my version of that memory. It is not complicated. A good piece of salmon, a considered marinade of lemon, olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs, and a hot grill that does the real work. The dill and parsley bring brightness; the lemon does what lemon always does — cuts through, clarifies, lifts. It is the kind of dinner that earns its place at the table without demanding much of the person making it.
I should tell you that my father, who believes deeply in simplicity and almost nothing else when it comes to fish, approves of this recipe. He visited last spring, and I made it on a Wednesday evening while he sat at the kitchen table and offered opinions about the olive oil. When I set the plate in front of him, he ate it quietly, which is the highest compliment he gives. My mother asked for more lemon. Zara, who had declared salmon “not her thing” approximately eighteen months prior, had seconds.
It is, I think, one of the better things I’ve made — and more importantly, one of the most repeatable. This is a weeknight dinner that asks only that you buy good fish and give it enough time on the grill without hovering anxiously. The herbs do the rest.
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets (approximately 170g each, skin on, about 2.5cm thick)
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for the grill
- Zest and juice of 1 large lemon (approximately 3 tablespoons juice)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated on a microplane
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Lemon slices and additional fresh herbs, to serve
Instructions
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- Prepare the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper until combined. Stir in the chopped dill, parsley, and chives. The marinade should smell bright and alive — this is a good sign.
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- Marinate the salmon. Place the salmon fillets in a shallow dish or a zip-lock bag. Pour the marinade over the fish, turning to coat well on all sides. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes at room temperature — long enough for the flavors to penetrate, not so long that the lemon begins to cook the flesh. If you have the foresight, up to 30 minutes in the refrigerator works beautifully.
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- Prepare the grill. Heat your grill — outdoor or stovetop grill pan — to medium-high heat. This is important: a hot grill sears the fish cleanly and prevents sticking. Brush the grates or pan generously with olive oil just before adding the fish.
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- Grill the salmon. Remove the salmon from the marinade, allowing any excess to drip off. Place the fillets skin-side down on the grill. Do not move them. Let them cook undisturbed for 4-5 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the fish releases naturally from the grill without resistance. If it clings, it is not ready.
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- Turn carefully and finish. Using a wide spatula, flip each fillet gently. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes on the flesh side, depending on thickness and your preferred doneness. The salmon is ready when it flakes at the thickest part with gentle pressure from a fork, and the center is still very slightly translucent — it will continue cooking off the heat. Do not go past this point.
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- Rest and serve. Transfer the salmon to a warm plate and let it rest for 2 minutes. This is not a step to skip — the fish redistributes its heat and its juices in this brief window. Serve with additional lemon slices and a scatter of fresh herbs over the top.
Nutrition
Tips
1. Buy the best salmon you can find, and keep the skin on. The quality of the fish is the quality of the dish — there is nowhere to hide in a recipe this simple. Wild-caught salmon, if available, has a depth of flavor that farmed salmon rarely achieves. The skin serves a structural purpose on the grill: it protects the delicate flesh from direct heat and crisps into something worth eating in its own right. Removing it before grilling is a mistake I will gently discourage.
2. Resist the urge to move the fish. The single most common error in grilling fish is impatience. A salmon fillet placed on a properly oiled, properly heated grill will tell you when it’s ready to be turned — it will release cleanly from the grates without sticking or tearing. If you try to flip it before that moment, you will lose half the fish to the grill. Wait. Pay attention here.
3. Err on the side of undercooking. Salmon continues to cook after it leaves the heat, and overcooked salmon — dry, opaque all the way through, slightly chalky — is a genuine shame when you have good fish. Remove the fillets when the center still carries a whisper of translucency. By the time it reaches the table, it will be exactly right.