Salmon slowly roasted on a bed of fennel and onions caramelized in their own juices. The perfectly cooked fish! One of my favorite recipes.
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups thinly sliced fennel
- 2 medium-size onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 twig of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour for dusting
- 4 salmon fillets, skinless, about 6 ounces each
- 180 g thinly sliced fennel
- 2 medium-size onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 twig of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 35 g pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour for dusting
- 4 salmon fillets, skinless, about 170 g each
Salmon: with or without skin?
If you pan-sear or grill the salmon keep the skin on. It serves as a protective layer between the salmon and the hot pan or grill retaining the the salmon’s juices. Pan-searing salmon, start with the skin-side down, and let it crisp up.
If you slow roast or poach the salmon you should remove the skin. It will not get crispy in liquid and you end up with a flabby, unattractive piece of skin. So for this dish I recommend to take the skin off or buy a skinless piece. The salmon will absorb a bit of the fennel’s juices.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Choose a baking dish large enough to hold 4 slices of salmon. Place sliced fennel, onions, garlic in a bowl. Drizzle fennel mix with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and thyme toss it well. Spread it on the bottom of the baking dish. Roast fennel mix for about 30 minutes, tossing it twice during cooking. If fennel starts to get too dark on the edges cover dish with a foil and finish baking.
In the meantime roast the pine nuts in a small pan for about 2-3 minutes, shaking once in a while and making sure that the nuts do not burn. Set aside on paper towels. Dry capers on paper towels and dust them lightly with a bit of flour. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Fry capers for about 1-2 minutes or until crispy outside. Remove from pan and set them on paper towels.
When the 30 minutes are over, reduce the oven temperature to 270°F/130°C.
Season salmon with salt and freshly ground pepper and dust one side with a bit of flour. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add salmon fillets and cook them for 1-2 minutes, searing the floured side only.
Remove fennel-onion mix from the oven. Place salmon fillets seared side up on top of the fennel mix. Slow roast the salmon for 12-15 minutes longer depending on the thickness of the fillets.
Serve salmon on top of caramelized fennel mix, sprinkle it with roasted pine nuts and capers. A nice addition to this dish are simple roasted potatoes.
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