Heat a 12" heavy-bottomed skillet for 3 minutes over high heat.

 

Sprinkle salmon with salt and ground black pepper. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.

 

When oil simmers (but does not smoke), add fillets skin side down and cook, without moving fillets, until pan regains lost heat, about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-high; continue to cook until skin side is well browned and bottom half of fillets turns opaque, 4-1/2 minutes.

 

Turn fillets and cook, without moving them, until they are no longer translucent on the exterior and are firm, but not hard, when gently squeezed: 3 minutes for medium-rare and 3-1/2 minutes for medium.

 

Remove fillets from pan; let stand 1 minute. Pat with paper towel to absorb excess fat on surface, if desired. Serve immediately.

 

The pan temperature drops with the addition of the fish fillets. To compensate for the heat loss, keep the heat on medium-high for 30 seconds after adding them.

 

If cooking two or three fillets instead of the full recipe of four, use a 10" skillet and medium-high heat for both preheating the pan and cooking the salmon. A splatter screen helps reduce the mess of pan-searing.

 

Serve salmon with the chutney, a fresh salsa, an herb-spiked vinaigrette, or squirt of lemon or lime.