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Salmon is my favourite dinner, and I often have it at least once a week in spring, when I want something tasty but do not want to spend ages indoors cooking when the sun is out. It is really simple to make, but it can sometimes become dry, stringy, or even burned if you do not prepare the fish with the right ingredients.

Most people just throw a salmon fillet in the oven or an air fryer to cook, but salmon is very lean and lacks enough fat to protect the skin from the heat, as other meats do. This means the fat will render very quickly while cooking, and the proteins in the fish will squeeze out any moisture, so you also lose most of those flavourful juices. However, I cook salmon a lot, and after trying dozens of recipes, I have discovered that you can prevent it from drying out and make it incredibly tasty by using mayonnaise.

When I first read about cooking salmon with mayonnaise, I thought it was bizarre and even disgusting, but I was fed up with it coming out of the oven overcooked,

I decided to try it out at least once, and I can confirm that mayonnaise is the key to making salmon flavourful will he perfect golden and slightly crisp texture.

Mayonnaise is made up of oils, eggs and a little acid, which will act as a protective coating around the fish to keep the skin moist.

It simply slows down moisture evaporation, so the salmon stays juicy while cooking, and you end up with a really rich and tasty dinner without much effort.

I have tried this cooking technique numerous times now, and it will not make the salmon taste like mayonnaise, as once it is cooked, the coating mostly disappears.

Using mayonnaise tends to crisp the skin near the end of cooking, so you are left with a golden-brown salmon with a perfect buttery texture.

You will need (per person):

• One salmon fillet
• Two teaspoons of mayonnaise
• One teaspoon of lemon juice
• Half a teaspoon of smoked paprika
• Half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• Half a teaspoon of honey
• A slight drizzle of olive oil (optional)
• Salt and pepper

Method:

To begin, preheat the oven to 180°C and line a tray with baking paper. Mix the mayonnaise and lemon juice in a small bowl until you have a smooth sauce

Place the salmon fillet skin-side down on the tray. I sometimes pour a little olive oil on the fish if I am using a big fillet, but it is usually not needed if you are using mayonnaise.

Mix the smoked paprika, Dijon mustard and honey together in another small bowl, then rub the coating on the salmon. I hate touching raw fish or meat, so I use gloves to prepare the salmon, but you could also use the back of a spoon or just your hands.

Next, add a few dollops of the lemon-infused mayonnaise to the salmon and spread it out until it is a thin layer over the fish. Place the salmon in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, checking regularly after 15 minutes.

Your salmon should come out the oven rich, buttery and perfectly juicy so each bite melts in your mouth without having to spend much time cooking it.