One-pan whole roast salmon and new potatoes

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C/fan200°C/ gas 7. Dry the fish with kitchen paper, making sure all the scales have been removed. Make 3-4 evenly spaced slashes on each side of the fish.
2. Find a roasting tin large enough to hold the whole salmon (you may need to place it diagonally – see tip). Put the spring onions and new potatoes in the tin, drizzle with olive oil and season well, then toss to coat.
3. Finely grate the zest of the whole lemon into a bowl (reserve the rest of it). Finely chop half the herbs and add to the bowl with enough olive oil to make a paste. Spread all over the salmon and into the slashes. Stuff the cavity with the remaining herbs and lemon slices. Season the fish well, then put on top of the veg.
4. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4 and roast for another 25-30 minutes.
5. To check the fish is cooked, make a small cut along the backbone at the head end. If the flesh comes away easily from the bones, and the tip of the knife (after being held between bones and flesh for 10 seconds) is warm to touch, it’s cooked. Squeeze over the juice from the reserved lemon and serve the fish whole, with the veg. At the table, peel off the skin (see tips) and ease the flesh off the bones in big pieces. Once you’ve served the top side, lift up the tail and, using a knife, prise the flesh away. The skeleton should come away (discard). Serve the rest of the fish.