I’ll be honest. Salmon is not one of my favorite foods. Occasionally I enjoy chunky smoked salmon on John’s hearty 9-grain bread, toasted and slathered with mayonnaise and lots of capers or salmon grilled with Granny’s Teriyaki sauce. Other than those two preparations, I will usually take a pass on salmon, that is, until I received the January issue of Bon Appétit. A beautiful dish of slow-roasted salmon with fennel, blood oranges, lemon and chiles caught my attention immediately.
The beautiful crimson color of a blood orange.
Thinly sliced fennel slow-roasted with the salmon and citrus imparts a lightly sweet, springtime flavor to the dish.
The salmon sits on the fennel, citrus, chile and dill and olive oil is poured over. Into the oven it goes, for 30 minutes.
We sopped up some of the flavorful olive oil on pieces of bread. The fennel still had a bit of crunch to it and the oranges and lemon were meltingly soft and sweet. It was divine. My opinion of salmon may need adjusting!
Slow-Roasted Salmon with Fennel, Citrus, and Chiles
Adapted from Bon Appetit ~ January 2014
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 blood or navel orange, very thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 Meyer or regular lemon, very thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 red Fresno chile or jalapeño, with seeds, thinly sliced
4 sprigs dill, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillet, preferably center-cut
3/4 cup olive oil
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 275°.
Toss fennel, orange slices, lemon slices, chile and 4 dill sprigs in a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Season salmon with kosher salt and place on top of fennel mixture. Pour oil over.
Roast until salmon is just cooked through (the tip of a knife will slide through easily and flesh will be slightly opaque), 30 – 40 minutes.
Transfer salmon to a platter, breaking it into large pieces as you go. Spoon fennel mixture and oil from baking dish over; discard dill sprigs. Season with flaky sea salt and pepper and top with fresh dill sprigs.
***I highly recommend Maldon sea salt. Their soft and flaky crystals are unlike any other salt.