Petunia Dursley's Fancy Roasted Salmon with Feta and Herbs

"At last, at long last, the final evening of Marge's stay arrived. Aunt Petunia cooked a fancy dinner and Uncle Vernon uncorked several bottles of wine. They got all the way through the soup and the salmon without a single mention of Harry's faults; during the lemon meringue pie, Uncle Vernon bored them all with a long talk about Grunnings, his drill-making company; then Aunt Petunia made coffee and Uncle Vernon brought out a bottle of brandy." - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Fancy Dinner Mayhem

Harry's awful Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were always worried about keeping up appearances, so when they hosted Vernon's equally terrible sister Marge for a visit, Petunia didn't hesitate to pull out all the stops for her final dinner with salmon, lemon meringue pie, and plenty of wine and brandy. Though this dinner ended with Aunt Marge getting scarlet drunk, running her mouth about Harry's parents, and eventually getting blown up like a blimp, one can assume that everyone was well-fed before the mayhem ensued.

Though a terrible shrew, Harry's Aunt Petunia regularly hosted fancy dinners for her husband Vernon's business associates so we can assume she was probably a fairly skilled cook. The book doesn't lay out the specific preparation for salmon that Petunia used, so when creating Petunia Dursley's Fancy Roasted Salmon with Feta and Herbs recipe, I decided to create a version of roasted salmon that was just a little bit fancier than a classic herb and butter preparation.

This recipe for Petunia Dursley's Fancy Roasted Salmon with Feta and Herbs starts with a large fillet of sockeye salmon, covered in a rich mix of butter, garlic oil, lemon zest, and fresh herbs --including Italian parsley, dill, chives, and oregano. Once the salmon is coated in it's buttery herb coat, its topped with a generous sprinkle of salty crumbled feta cheese. After roasting, everything is finished under the broiler for a few minutes to allow the feta cheese to blister and char just slightly, then finished with a sprinkle of additional herbs and lemon zest.

What kind of feta cheese is best to use?

I prefer to crumble a block of Greek feta in brine for this recipe when possible. The saltwater brine helps to ensure that the feta stays fresh and creamy and also elongates the life of the feta, which is nice if you plan to tuck it in the fridge for a few extra days before using it. If you are unable to find Greek block feta in brine, the vacuum-packed blocks are also perfectly reasonable to use in this recipe, though they may be slightly less creamy. Though this recipe calls for feta cheese that has been crumbled, I would avoid pre-crumbled feta for this dish, if possible, as it tends to be drier and less flavorful than block feta.

Do I need to use fresh herbs or can I substitute for dried herbs?

I utilized fresh herbs for this as I feel Petunia would have pulled out all the stops for a fancy meal, but you can swap for dried herbs if you prefer. Keep in mind that the fresh to dried herb measurement ratio is generally 3:1, so I've included suggested measurements in the recipe card for both options.

What to serve with Petunia Dursley's Fancy Roasted Salmon with Feta and Herbs

I love to serve this fancy salmon dish with lightly broiled fresh asparagus and steamed rice -- I prefer to use my electric pressure cooker for the latter but you can cook the rice however you prefer.

How to trim and broil asparagus

1. Preheat your oven to broil on high. prepare a large sheet pan with parchment paper and reserve to the side.
2. Remove the woody stems from the bottom of the asparagus. The best way I've found for doing this is to find the natural break in one asparagus stem and snap it, then line the remaining asparagus up by tip and slice in the same spot toward the end of the stem to remove the woody bottom.
3. Transfer the trimmed asparagus to the reserved sheet pan and arrange in a single layer. Dress very lightly in olive oil or avocado oil.
4. Transfer to the oven to broil until the asparagus is lightly tender but still maintains some snap. For thin asparagus I generally broil for about 5 minutes. For thicker asparagus I find it needs closer to 9-10 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse flaky sea salt.

What tools do I need to make this recipe?

• A large baker's half sheet pan (2 pans are best if you plan to make the optional broiled asparagus, though you can utilize the same pan if needed; it will just take a bit more time)
• Parchment paper
• A cutting board
• A chef's knife
• A citrus zester
• A kitchen scale
• Measuring spoons
• A small mixing bowl
• A fork
• A meat thermometer

Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.

A note for special diets

This recipe for Petunia Dursley's Fancy Roasted Salmon with Feta and Herbs is friendly for grain-free, gluten-free, low-carb, and Keto diets. If you'd like to make this recipe friendly for Low-FODMAP diets, you'll want to omit the optional asparagus in favor of a FODMAP-friendly side.

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Petunia Dursley's Fancy Roasted Salmon with Feta and Herbs

★★★★★ 5 from 39 reviews

• Author: Whip & Wander
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Mains
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: British
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Petunia Dursley's Fancy Roasted Salmon with Feta and Herbs recipe includes a classic butter and herb preparation with a generous measure of salty feta cheese.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lbs salmon filet, deboned (I used Sockeye for this)
• 37 g (about ⅓ cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced - OR - 1 tablespoon garlic oil (for low-FODMAP)
• zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp)
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• A few cracks of black pepper
• 6 oz Greek block feta cheese, removed from brine and crumbled

(Optional):

• Steamed rice
• Broiled asparagus:
  • 2 bunches (about 2 lbs) asparagus
  • 1 tsp olive oil - OR - avocado oil
  • ½ tsp flaky sea salt

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F / 230 C. Prep a baker's half sheet pan with parchment paper and transfer the salmon filet onto it. Reserve to the side while you prepare the topping.
2. In a small bowl combine the parsley, dill, chives, oregano, lemon zest, and salt. Remove about 1 tablespoon and reserve to the side for topping the final dish. To the remaining herb mixture add the butter, garlic (or garlic-infused olive oil), and a few cracks of black pepper. mix with a fork until well-combined.
3. Spread the butter and herb mixture on top of the salmon until fully covered. Sprinkle the top with the crumbled feta and transfer to the oven.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until salmon has reached about 135 degrees F / 57 C.
5. Turn the heat to broil on high. Finish under the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until the fish has just a bit of crispy char on top. The finished fish should be 145 degrees F.
6. Sprinkle with the reserved herbs and lemon zest, portion, and serve warm.

For the optional broiled asparagus:

(You can slot a separate pan containing the asparagus into the broiler as you finish the fish, or wait until the fish has completed and utilize the original pan you cooked the fish on once it has been removed).

1. Preheat your oven to broil on high. prepare a large sheet pan with parchment paper and reserve to the side.
2. Remove the woody stems from the bottom of the asparagus. The best way I've found for doing this is to find the natural break in one asparagus stem and snap it, then line the remaining asparagus up by tip and slice in the same spot toward the end of the stem to remove the woody bottom.
3. Transfer the trimmed asparagus to the reserved sheet pan and arrange in a single layer. Dress very lightly in olive oil or avocado oil.
4. Transfer to the oven to broil until the asparagus is lightly tender but still maintains some snap. For thin asparagus I generally broil for about 5 minutes. For thicker asparagus I find it needs closer to 9-10 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

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Notes

Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

The nutritional information does *not* account for the optional rice or asparagus side dishes.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 379
• Sugar: 1 g
• Sodium: 411 mg
• Fat: 24 g
• Saturated Fat: 11 g
• Carbohydrates: 2 g
• Protein: 36 g
• Cholesterol: 52 mg

Keywords: Salmon, Feta cheese