Baked Salmon   

     
Ingredients:
4-pound whole salmon with head and tail, scaled, and cleaned
6 spring onions, chopped
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup white Zinfandel wine
10 whole multicolored peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 whole cloves
Paper thin cucumber slices
Lemon wedges
Fresh dill sprigs
 

Directions:
Soak fish at least 4 hours in ginger ale before preparing it. Add enough to cover the fish. After 4 hours drain and rinse the fish.

Preheat oven to 325F. Stack 2 heavy-duty foil sheets on large baking sheet. Place fish on foil. Sprinkle half of green onions and 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice inside fish. Drizzle remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice over fish. Drizzle oil over. Pour wine over; sprinkle with peppercorns, cayenne pepper, and cloves. Sprinkle
remaining green onions around fish. Bring up foil around fish, sealing tightly but leaving airspace between fish and foil. Bake fish 1 hour.

Remove from oven. Open foil and let fish cool 1 hour. Reseal foil and refrigerate until cold, about 4 hours. Open foil. Carefully remove skin from fish. Scrape off any grayish flesh. Transfer fish to platter. Garnish top of fish with cucumber slices. Surround
with lemon wedges and dill sprigs.

For a quick sauce to go with the fish, whisk together 1/2 cup sour cream, 4 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon chili powder and 2 table spoons cream style horseradish, heat till warm.