Whole salmon is an amazing sight, and once the smell hits you you'll want to sink your teeth into it. The leftovers, if there are any, will keep in the refrigerator for one day.

To clean and bone the salmon yourself start by removing the gills and scaling the salmon. Then carefully slice open the belly, scrape out the intestines, and clean the abdominal cavity thoroughly, removing blood clots, membranes, and the like. Loosen all the bones all the way up to the spine, using a small knife or fish tweezers. Then gently pull the spine free of the flesh and cut it right at the base of the skull and right before the tail. Finally, trim off about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of the flesh near the belly to remove any leftover membranes and the small ventral finns. Leave on the head and tail or remove, depending upon your preference for presentation.

Photo © Rene S. Riis Foodstyling: Kille Enna

• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 6 green cardamom pods, roasted and the seeds ground finely
• 4 cups (300 gr) hokkaido, seeded and grated finely
• 1 packed cup or 15 leaves of coriander, also called cilantro or Chinese parsley, chopped finely
• 1 tbs nigella seeds, also called black onion seeds, roasted
• 2 tsp tamari
• 2 tsp brown rice vinegar
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 absolutely fresh whole salmon weighing about 4 1/2 lbs (2 kg), cleaned and boned
• tamari
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• cotton string

Cooking Instructions:
Filling
1) Saute onions together with a dash of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for 30 minutes in extra virgin olive oil at very low heat.
2) Combine sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Salmon
1) Rub the inside of the salmon with tamari, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Rub the skin with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
2) Stuff as much filling as possible into the cavity of the salmon and tie it up tightly with the cotton string.
3) Bake the salmon for 10-15 minutes in a very hot oven 525° F (275° C) until the skin is golden brown and crispy. The meat should be tender and juicy.
4) Saute any leftover filling on a pan at low heat for 2 minutes in a bit of extra virgin olive oil while the salmon is in the oven.
5) Remove the salmon from the oven and leave it for 5 minutes for the juices to settle before serving it together with any leftover filling.