Surprising Uses for Condiments: Garlic Honey Rosemary Salmon

This is a simple recipe that combines three things I deeply enjoy: garlic, rosemary, and salmon. Longtime readers have seen me post many things about rosemary. I have recently started growing my favorite herb on our rooftop terrace, and I now have a bit of an abundance. 

The recipe itself was inspired, loosely, by a recipe published by Naz Deravian in the New York Times for chili crisp honey salmon. (Also worth cooking – it is delicious.) What inspired the recipe for me was not the original spicy-sweet flavor. Rather, it was what surprised me about the recipe: the surprising use of mayonnaise.  

Mayonnaise is, basically, reconstituted eggs, oil, salt, and vinegar. Before the Industrial Revolution, the labor that it took to make mayonnaise made it truly a luxury good. Modernism transformed it into the spread we know today. The history of mayonnaise is a topic that I recommend reading more on – and others have spoken more ably about it than I ever could.

In North America, it is most commonly a condiment – an application which I am personally lukewarm about. (I tend to prefer other condiments on my sandwich.) In many other countries, mayonnaise is  served with fries or fried foods (an approach I do enjoy). Yet it is also a surprisingly versatile cooking ingredient. Here in the US, it has been used to make cakes and brown grilled sandwiches; in many other countries, it is used to make a complex potato salad that seems to be called a “Russian salad” nearly everywhere except Russia. But, as you likely know, mayonnaise has its detractors. 

A lot of people say that mayonnaise is not very Jewish – but Jews have enjoyed mayonnaise in various ways for quite a while. Related lemon-and-egg sauces are fairly common in Sephardi traditions, and Jews from many communities in the former Soviet Union incorporate it into various ever-richer salads and other things. After all, mayonnaise is extremely popular, ubiquitous even, in Russia. Jews from the United Kingdom and South Africa enjoy a mysterious spread called “sandwich spread,” which is functionally mayonnaise with pickles inside. And we are not the only ones: different mayonnaises are popular as ingredients in Japan, the Arab World, and Latin America – though usually in lighter quantities than the thick layers found on many sandwiches in the US and Canada. (Chile’s hot dogs are a notable exception.) These are all places not usually associated with mayonnaise. 

Most mayonnaise hate is simply disliking it, and honestly, it is fine to not like something without a Big Reason for it. I think some of the cultural aspects of mayonnaise aversion are a combination of some sort of strange grievance politics with an ingredient associated with dominant cultures, combined with a bit of shame that folks are using it rather than cooking “authentic cuisine” – which, I remind you, was always a sham. 

Enough about mayo, and back to the fish. I, like Deravian, find that the mayonnaise in this marinade helps keep the fish moist and binds the flavoring ingredients together more reliably than oil alone. Feel free to add more rosemary or garlic to taste – I tend to go for a bit more rosemary than most people. The honey adds some sweetness, and if you want, you can add more – but if you do so, be sure to add some more garlic or rosemary to balance it out a little. You could easily make this with another type of fish, but you will need to adjust the cooking time. (Arctic char is a good and sustainable substitute.)

Garlic Rosemary Honey Salmon

Loosely based on a recipe by Naz Deravian

Sunflower oil

2 lbs / 900 grams salmon filets, with skin on

Salt (you can use any kind – I use table salt)

Black pepper

¼ cup mayonnaise (I use light mayonnaise)

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (about five cloves)

1 tablespoon honey

1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Lightly grease a baking tray or casserole pan with sunflower oil. The tray should be deep enough to hold the salmon and catch any fluid coming off.
2. Place the salmon, skin-side down, on the baking surface. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Mix the other ingredients together and spoon over the salmon.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the fish is flaking and slightly resistant when pushed with a fork.
5. Remove from the oven and let sit on the tray for a few minutes before eating.
6. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Thanks to David Ouziel for participating in several rounds of User Acceptance Testing for this recipe. Special thanks to Jonathan Bressler, Margaret Wessel Walker, Alex Warburton, Tamara Velasquez, and Adam Sperber for mayonnaise-specific research support.

Lest I forget – Naz Deravian’s book of Iranian cooking, Bottom of the Pot, is well worth acquiring. I particularly like her recipes for kookoos – big, vegetable-filled frittatas.