Salmon Baked with Fennel-Orange Butter….and served with the green vegetables of spring

I seem to eat more salmon in the spring than during any other time of the year.  I would love to say this is because of some innate hunger that I possess for all things seasonal (fresh wild salmon begins to hit the market during the spring), but sadly, I know this isn’t true.  I have no real long term experiential connections with the Pacific Northwest or the North Atlantic.  I think I have to admit that I just like the combination of the colors of salmon pink and spring greens on my plate.  It is so lovely to look at…and therefore it makes me happy.  And because of the reality that foods that share a season frequently have an affinity for one another, salmon is delicious with the green foods (asparagus, peas, fava beans, artichokes, greens….) of spring and early summer.  Beautiful and delicious...the ultimate combination.

Recently I served some salmon with the early spring partners I wrote about in my last post (asparagus and mushrooms), along with some of the first beautiful spinach to make its way to my local farmers’ market this year.  I tied it all together with a compound butter flavored with fennel and orange—smearing the salmon with it before baking…and finishing the asparagus with it too.  

If you are new to fish cookery…or just don’t like the aroma that the frying of fish leaves in your home…then you will love the technique of baking fish with a compound butter.  I wrote about it for the first time several summers ago…and it is a method I turn to again and again.  Once you put the fish in the oven, you can pretty much ignore it (no worrying about regulating pan temperature, flipping the fish over or possible sticking...) and focus on the rest of the meal.  It comes out of the oven moist and flavorful (bathed in whatever aromatic flavor you have packed into your butter).  Most of the greasy particles (the source of the smell) remain trapped in the oven.   

This super simple technique makes this particular dish--which admittedly looks like it has a lot going on--surprisingly quick to prepare.  Even including making the compound butter from scratch…and stemming and washing the spinach…I was able to make this meal for two in under an hour.  If you decide to make it for more than two, it might take a bit longer…but not much.  Beautiful…delicious… and quick to make—you can’t ask for much more than that.

Salmon with Fennel-Orange Butter,

Spinach, Mushrooms, Asparagus & Hazelnuts

2 4- to 6-oz. portions skin-on salmon

2 to 3 T. fennel-orange butter

6 oz. asparagus, trimmed (3 oz. trimmed weight) and cut on a long diagonal

4 oz. crimini (or other favorite) mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 T. olive oil

1/2 T. butter

1/2 c. thinly sliced spring onions (about 3), use equal amounts of the white and green

5 oz. stemmed spinach, rinsed in several changes of water and roughly chopped if leaves are large

1 1/2 to 2 T. chopped toasted and skinned hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 425°F.   Place the salmon skinned side down on a small oiled, rimmed baking sheet.  Smear the top of each filet with 1/2 to 3/4 T. butter and season with salt & pepper.  Set aside.

Blanch the asparagus in a medium-sized sauce pan in boiling salted water until just tender—about 3 to 4 minutes.  Drain and spread the asparagus on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.  Set aside the (now empty) saucepan used for blanching the asparagus. 

In a medium sauté pan set over moderately high heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned and tender—about 5 minutes.  Decrease the heat to medium and add a half tablespoon of butter to the pan.  Add the spring onions along with a pinch of salt and cook until tender—about 2 to 3 minutes. 

While the onions cook, place the salmon in the oven.

When the onions are tender, add the spinach to the pan (if there is no water clinging to the leaves from a recent washing, add a tablespoon or two of water to the pan with the spinach).  Cook, turning occasionally with tongs until the spinach is collapsed and tender.  If there is a lot of liquid left in the pan, increase the heat slightly until the excess liquid evaporates. Set aside and keep warm until the salmon is ready.

Check on the salmon—I like mine slightly under medium, so I start checking mine after about 8 minutes per inch of thickness of the fish.  I like to pull it when the white proteins have begun to become visible on the sides of the fish…or when an instant read thermometer reads about 115°F (or just under).

Remove the salmon from the oven.  Melt a tablespoon of the compound butter over moderate heat in the pan the asparagus was cooked in.  Add the asparagus and heat until sizzling.  Add the hazelnuts and toss. 

Divide the spinach-mushroom mixture between two plates.  Using a wide thin spatula, lift the salmon off of the baking sheet (the skin will have stuck and will remain on the baking sheet as you slide your spatula under the fish).  Place the fish on the bed of spinach.  Divide the asparagus and hazelnut mixture between the two plates, mounding it on top of the fish and allowing it to cascade naturally over the sides.  Serve immediately.

Fennel-Orange Butter

Zest of half an orange (about 1 1/2 to 2 t.)
Juice of one orange (about 1/3 c. juice)

rounded 1/4 t. fennel seed, toasted and crushed/ground to a powder

a small squeeze of lemon juice (1/2 to 3/4 t), to taste

4 T. room temperature butter

Salt & pepper

Strain the orange juice into a small non­reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and gently cook until reduced and very thick. Let cool to room temperature.

Place the reduced juice in a small bowl with the fennel, lemon juice and butter and cream together.  Season to with salt & pepper—adding more lemon juice if the butter seems flat tasting or too sweet. Set aside.  

 Printable Version

Vacation Inspiration—Potatoes, Tomatoes & Green Beans with a Caper Vinaigrette, Fresh Herbs & Slow Roasted Salmon

I always take a stack of food magazines with me when I travel.  By the time my vacation rolls around I'm almost always behind in my reading...but even if I weren't, cooking magazines provide the perfect amount of activity when I  know there will be many short—or long—moments of down time ahead of me.  If I am somewhere that offers me the opportunity to cook, they also provide instant inspiration.  Almost without fail I return home with a dog-eared and post-it note tagged stack...and loads of new ideas.

Because some of the best meals of my life have been at the table of my friend Bonnie...and her table is imbued with the food traditions of Sweden and Denmark...I always stop and take a closer look at articles about Scandinavian food.  In the June issue of Food & Wine this year there was a travel article (with recipes, of course) about Stockholm.  A recipe for a substantial salad of vegetables topped with flaked hot smoked salmon particularly caught my eye.  It popped into my mind as I was considering what to make for dinner at the end of my first full day back home.

The components of my salad were similar...but not identical... to the original.  I didn't have any hot smoked salmon...but I did have some nice canned, olive oil packed tuna (from Trader Joe's...not the bank breaking stuff from Dean &DeLuca).  I added some poached fingerling potatoes to the green beans and cherry tomatoes called for in the original.  And I used a mix of arugula and butter lettuce for my greens.  The recipe in the magazine used a mix of red and green Bibb...and also included a few shaved radishes.  I thought the peppery arugula would add the right note in place of those radishes...and it did.

The thing about the Food & Wine salad that seemed the most unusual—and made me stop longer for an even closer look—was the fried caper vinaigrette.  I love fried capers...and I loved the idea of using the oil used to fry them as part of the vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette in the recipe was a bit more acidic than the vinaigrettes I usually favor...but with the potatoes and fish and soft butter lettuce, it was just the thing. 

We liked the salad so much that I made it again a few days later....this time with slow-roasted salmon.  And it was this version that I really preferred. The tuna was good...and I would make it again...but the salmon version was outstanding.  If you have never slow roasted salmon, check out my post from a few years ago.  It is so easy.  It's a perfect method for salmon destined for a salad....and a perfect way to prepare fish in the summer when you don't want to heat up your kitchen with a super hot oven. 

I returned from my summer vacation well rested...and so inspired from my rambles through my reading material.  I'm sure I will never get around to making all the things that caught my eye.  But I hope that they will at least continue to percolate around in my mind and manifest themselves in my cooking—and here on my blog—during the months to come and until my next opportunity to get away to relax and recharge.

Potato, Tomato & Green Bean Salad with a 
Caper Vinaigrette, Dill & Slow Roasted Salmon

6 oz. Salmon filet (with or without skin)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Several sprigs of dill

1/2 lb. fingerling potatoes

1/2 t. cider or sherry vinegar

1/4 of a small red onion, very thinly sliced/shaved (about 1/4 c.)

5 to 6 oz. green beans, trimmed and cut into 2- to 3-inch lengths

5 oz. mixed cherry tomatoes

2 T. coarsely chopped dill, plus extra picked dill for garnish

2 T. minced Italian flat leaf parsley

Caper vinaigrette

1 1/2 c. bite sized pieces Bibb/butter lettuce (55 grams), rinsed and spun dry

1 1/2 c. stemmed arugula (30 grams), rinsed and spun dry

Fried capers

Place the salmon in an oiled baking dish (skin side down) and season with salt and pepper.  If you like, scatter a few sprigs of dill over the salmon.  Place in a 275° oven and bake until an instant read thermometer reads 120°—about  30 to 40 minutes.  Remove and set aside until ready to serve the salad.

While the salmon roasts, scrub the potatoes and place in a saucepan.  Cover with cold water.  Salt the water and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer gently until tender to the tip of a knife—about 15 to 20 minutes.  Drain.  When cool enough to handle (but still warm), halve lengthwise.  If the skins are tough, pull them off (if they are tough, this will be easily accomplished).  Place the potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with the cider or sherry vinegar and season with salt.  Set aside.

While the potatoes cook, rinse the onions under cold running water—or soak in a small bowl of ice water for five minutes and drain.  Spread on a double thickness of paper towels and blot dry.  

Blanch the beans in a pot of boiling salted water until cooked to your liking—4 to 7 minutes.  Drain and spread on towels to cool.  (You may cook the beans in a separate pot, but I found it works just as well to drain the potatoes and use the pot the potatoes were cooked in—the beans will easily cook and cool in the amount of time it takes to cool and peel the potatoes.)

Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes (depending on their size).  Leave them cut side up on the cutting board (or transfer to a plate) and season well with salt and pepper.  Let sit while you are pulling together all of the ingredients.

When ready to serve, add the beans, red onions, cherry tomatoes and herbs to the bowl with the potatoes.  Season with salt & pepper and drizzle in about 2/3 of the vinaigrette.  Toss to coat all the vegetables well.  Add the greens, season and toss again.  If the salad seems dry, add more of the vinaigrette.

Mound the salad on a platter or individual serving plates.  Flake the salmon into large chunks and arrange over the salad (discarding the skin if the salmon was cooked on the skin). Scatter the capers and a few dill sprigs over the salad and serve. 

Serves 2 as an entrée.  The recipe for the salad and vinaigrette are both easily multiplied to serve more.

Variations:

• Replace the salmon with a 5 oz. can of olive oil packed, solid white tuna.
• Add a hard- or medium-cooked egg or two (halved or quartered) for a more substantial salad 

Caper Vinaigrette

3 to 4 T. olive oil

2 T. capers, rinsed and blotted dry

A scant 2 T. sherry vinegar

1/2 t. Dijon Mustard

Salt & Freshly ground pepper

Place 3 T. of olive oil in a small sauté or sauce pan and set over moderate heat.  When the oil is warm, add the capers.  They will begin to sizzle and pop as the oil continues to heat up.  Allow them to sizzle until they open and begin to darken and crisp—about 2 to 3 minutes from when they first begin to actively sizzle. 

Strain the oil into a heat proof container and let cool.  Spread the capers on some paper towels and set aside.

Place the sherry vinegar, mustard and a couple of good pinches of salt in a small bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Measure the cooled oil and add more olive oil to make 3 T.  Add the oil to the vinegar-Dijon mixture in a thin stream while whisking constantly.  Taste and correct the seasoning and balance with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

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What's in Season?... Arugula

For the month of March, the illustration on my 2016 "Twelve Months of Fresh Food" calendar is a scattering of arugula leaves.  

And while there is no arugula growing in my part of the world (at least not in the garden) right now, it is in March that I really begin to be hungry for salad.  And arugula is almost always the green I reach for first when I want to make a salad.  From earliest spring...to late in the fall...arugula is a constant presence in my pantry.

Arugula has a friendly nuttiness and peppery bite.  The bite can be mild or quite strong...depending on the maturity of the plant and the weather (more mature plants and hotter weather produce hot, peppery arugula).  In early spring, arugula is delicious with asparagus, artichokes, peas, radishes and young root vegetables. During the summer, it is marvelous with broccoli, tomatoes, corn, summer squash, cucumbers and melons, peaches and berries as well as green and shelling beans.  Its flavorful presence is just the thing for fall fruits...especially figs, grapes and apples.   No matter the season, it is perfect with nuts of all kinds, salty and tangy cheeses, olives, cured meats, grains, lemon (and orange), avocadoes, potatoes and mushrooms.  It is a most versatile food.

And it needn't be limited to being just a salad green.  It can be used like an herb...folded into pastas...or vegetable ragouts...  It makes the best pesto imaginable (I happen to prefer it to basil pesto) and is delicious stirred into soup...tossed with pasta...or spread on a crostini, pizza, sandwich, or quesadilla.  No wonder I love it so.

Today, I am posting a new recipe for a delicious and simple salad...featuring (in addition to the arugula) blanched green beans, toasted hazelnuts and a fantastic orange vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette is particularly good with the arugula.  I posted a similar vinaigrette—with a reduced orange juice base—last spring.  If you have never reduced a liquid to a syrup before, you should check out that post.  I am posting the salad today accompanied by pan-seared salmon...but it was the hit of a recent wine-pairing class when served with sea scallops.  I also think it would be wonderful topped with a round of baked goat cheese. 

Since today's post is intended to be a celebration of arugula, I thought I would end with a picture montage of some of the recipes I have posted featuring arugula over the last six years (there have been dozens...  And yes, I have been keeping For Love of the Table for almost six years.  It is hard to believe....).  Enjoy!

Pasta with Arugula and Walnut Pesto and Summer Squash

Gemelli with Sugar Snap Peas, Mushrooms & Goat Cheese

Fettuccine with Corn Pesto, Arugula & Prosciutto

Pizza with Potatoes, Mushrooms & Arugula

Minestra Verdissima

Wild Rice Salad with Apples & Roast Chicken

Farro Salad with Broccoli and Green Olives

Quinoa with Golden Beets, Avocado & Arugula

Chicken Salad with Cantaloupe, Feta & Arugula

Potato Salad with Spring Herb Pesto & Peas

Asparagus & White Bean Salad with Arugula

Broccoli, Chickpeas & Arugula

Autumn Salad of Fresh Figs, Grapes, Arugula, Escarole & Mint

Spring Salad with Arugula, Mint, Beets & Asparagus

Citrus & Avocado Salad

Watermelon, Blueberries & Arugula

Cantaloupe, Blueberries & Arugula

Corn Cakes with Roasted Corn, Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula & Bacon

Salad of Haricot Verts, Arugula, Hazelnuts & Orange

with Pan-Seared Salmon

1 orange, scrubbed

1 lb. trimmed haricot verts, cut on a slight diagonal into 2-inch lengths

1/2 c.  (60 g) Hazelnuts, toasted, husked & very coarsely chopped

Four 4- to 6-ounce portions skinless salmon filet

Salt & Pepper

Vegetable or olive oil

1 recipe Orange Vinaigrette (below)

2 handfuls arugula (2 to 2 1/2 oz.)

Using a vegetable peeler, remove 5 or 6 strips of zest from the orange, being careful to avoid the bitter white pith...you will need about half of the orange.  Cut the strips lengthwise into a very fine julienne.  Set aside.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil.  Add the haricots verts and cook until just tender.  While the haricots cook, place the zest in a bowl sieve and dip the sieve into the pot with the haricots (just far enough to submerge the zest) for 10 to 15 seconds.  Lift the sieve out and spread the zest on a paper towel.  When the beans are tender, drain and spread on kitchen towels.  Set aside to cool.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high to high heat.  While the pan heats, pat the salmon dry and season with salt and pepper.  Add enough oil to the pan to lightly coat the pan (the pan should be hot enough that the oil shimmers and disperses across the surface of the pan immediately).  Add the salmon to the pan, service-side down, and let cook undisturbed golden brown and crisp on the first side (about 2 minutes)—regulating the heat as necessary to maintain an active sizzle.  Carefully turn the filets over and continue to cook on the second side.  Cook the salmon a total of 7 to 10 minutes per inch of thickness.  I like mine to still be slightly translucent in the center, so I cook it for the lesser amount of time.  If you like, you may place the pan in a hot oven to finish the cooking after the salmon has been flipped to the second side.  Transfer the salmon to a plate and keep warm while you finish the salad.

While the fish cooks, place the room temperature beans, the zest and the hazelnuts in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with enough vinaigrette to coat.  Toss to combine.

When the salmon is ready, add the arugula and toss with the haricots. Taste and correct the seasoning.  Drizzle in more vinaigrette if the salad seems dry. 

Divide the salad among serving plates and top with the salmon.  Drizzle the salmon with some olive oil...or a bit of vinaigrette...if you like. 

Serves 4 as an entrée.

(Salad adapted from Ottolenghi the Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi)

Note:  This salad is also delicious with seared Sea scallops or Halibut.

Orange Vinaigrette:

2 T. Sherry vinegar

1 small shallot, finely diced (about 1 1/2 T.)

1/4 t. kosher salt

Juice of 1 Valencia Oranges (1/3 to 1/2 c.), reduced until syrupy

1/2 t. fennel seed, toasted and crushed

1/2 T. minced fresh tarragon

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground pepper

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and shallot.  Let macerate for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the salt, reduced orange juice, fennel seed and tarragon.  Gradually whisk in the oil, adding it in a thin stream.  Taste and correct the seasoning and balance.

Printable Version

Spinach Salad with Beets, Avocado, Freekeh & Slow Roasted Salmon

Over the past few years I have posted several salads that feature a grain (quinoa, barley, farro, wild rice, etc.) in the starring role.  Some of these salads include greens, but most do not.  For those that do include greens, the greens function mostly as a garnish.  I love grains…and I love hearty, substantial salads…so these grain-centric salads are frequently what I gravitate towards when I’m preparing a main course salad for dinner. 

But this past fall, one night I decided to change things up a bit and make a salad with grains that was more salad-like….heavy on the greens (baby spinach), with a small amount of a cooked grain (freekeh) tossed in to add textural interest (much like a handful of dried fruits or nuts would do).  I loved the result.  Yesterday I ran across my notes for that salad and decided to make it again.  It was just as delicious as I remembered it. 

I should warn you that if you decide to make this salad that you will find it is not much of a departure from my normal preference for substantial salads.  Spinach has the ability to stand up to any number of hearty additions, so besides the freekeh, I included slow roasted salmon, hard cooked eggs, roasted beets and avocado.   The salad is satisfying and filling…and brightened by the addition of some thin slices of red onion and a tangy Dijon vinaigrette.   

I am posting the “recipe” (more of a list of ingredients, actually) for the salad as I made it: for two.  But as always, you can multiply it to your heart’s content.  For some of the ingredients I have given a range of quantities because salads should always be about adding and subtracting ingredients to please your tastes and your appetite.  I assembled the salad on two individual plates, but I think in larger multiples that this salad would be beautiful built on a large, shallow platter and served family style…or on a buffet.

I am also not providing detailed instructions for preparing each of the ingredients in the salad.  Rather, I’m providing links to posts I have written that provide detailed instructions for the techniques involved.  Once you have all of the individual ingredients cooked (and they can all be cooked ahead) the salad can be assembled in a few minutes.  It should go without saying that this salad would be a perfect place to use up leftovers—a few chunks of leftover roasted or poached salmon, a small amount of a leftover cooked grain (bulgur would be good in place of the freekeh) as well as the beets, which are nice to roast in quantity and keep on hand for adding to any meal….as a side or part of an impromptu salad. 

I was so glad I stumbled across my notes for this salad.  It made an immensely enjoyable dinner.  Not only is it loaded with many of my favorite ingredients, but it was so nice to have something bright and fresh….  Exactly what my palate craves after the normal steady diet of the rich and hearty foods of the midwinter months.    

Spinach Salad with Freekeh, Beets, Avocado
 & Slow Roasted Salmon

For 2 salads you will need:

A scant 1/4 cup of freekeh, rinsed

A 6 to 8 oz. chunk of salmon—skin on or off, as you prefer (the skin peels away easily after roasting)

2 large handfuls of baby spinach (about 2 1/2 to 3 oz.), large stems pinched off and discarded

1/4 of a small (4 oz.) red onion, thinly sliced, rinsed under cold running water and blotted dry

3 to 4 T. Dijon vinaigrette (see below)

1 or 2 beets, (about 6 oz. total weight), roasted, peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced thickly cross-wise and tossed with red wine vinegar to taste (1/2 to 1 t.) and seasoned with salt & pepper

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and thickly sliced cross-wise

1 hard cooked egg (see note), cut into 6 wedges lengthwise

Place the freekeh in a small saucepan and cover with a cup of cold water.  Add a couple of pinches of salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until just tender—about 20 minutes.  Drain well, shaking gently to get rid of excess water, and spread on a plate to cool.  (Place in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process, if you like.)

While the freekeh cooks roast the salmon, make the vinaigrette and gather the remaining ingredients.  The salmon may be used right away or allowed to cool briefly.  Break the salmon into large, random chunks.

When ready to serve the salad, place the spinach in a large bowl along with the onion and cooled freekeh.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of the vinaigrette.  Toss until everything is lightly coated with the dressing, adding more if necessary. 

Build the salad by layering and nestling the dressed greens with all of the other elements in an attractive manner, dividing the ingredients equally between the two plates.  Drizzle more vinaigrette over all, concentrating on hitting the beets, avocado and egg.  Serve immediately. 

Dijon Viniagrette:  Place 2 T. of red wine vinegar in a small bowl and whisk in a two or three good pinches of salt.  Add 2 T. Dijon mustard and whisk until smooth.  Drizzle in 1/2 cup of olive oil, whisking constantly as you do.  The vinaigrette should thicken and emulsify as you whisk in the oil.  Taste and correct the seasoning with salt & pepper.  This recipe makes 3/4 cup of vinaigrette and you will probably not even need a third of it for two salads.  You can of course make a smaller amount, but this is a great basic vinaigrette to make and keep on hand in the refrigerator for dressing small dinner or lunch salads—it is versatile and tangy, and goes with a lot of different foods. 

Note: If you have never made a hard cooked egg before, here’s how I do it when I am only making a few.  Place the eggs in a pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer.  (It’s ok if the pan is a bit bigger than this, but if it is too large the eggs will tend to overcook in the amount of time it takes to bring the water to a boil.  For a small number of eggs, you will probably have to use a one quart saucepan.)  Add water to the pan so that the eggs are covered by a half inch to an inch of water.  Set the pan over high heat and bring just to the boil.  Turn the heat off, cover the pan and let the eggs sit undisturbed for 10 to 12 minutes.  I always cook an extra egg so that I can quickly peel and cut open an egg to see if it’s done to my liking.  I prefer them a bit underdone—with just a trace of creaminess in the center.  If the egg isn’t done, just continue to cook the remaining eggs for another minute or two…or however long you deem necessary to achieve the desired doneness.  (Eat the extra ‘tester’ egg for a snack….they’re delicious and good for you.)  Place the cooked eggs in cold water and peel as soon as they are cool enough to handle. 

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