Fennel Frond Topped Salmon with Fennel Potato Puree
Serves: 4 servings
 
Ingredients
  • - 3 baby fennel bulbs with leaves, or one large
  • - 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • - 4 cloves garlic, peeled and intact
  • - 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts or almonds
  • - ⅛ cup extra virgin olive oil, or more to reach desired thickness
  • - ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • - 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste
  • - 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, optional
  • - 4 5 ounce wild salmon fillets
  • - 2 large russet potato , peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
  • - 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • - scant ¼ cup homemade or purchased vegetable broth
  • - salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 275℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (do not grease).
  2. Place a steamer insert over a pot partially filled with water and place on medium-high heat. Chop fennel bulb into ½” pieces and place in steamer insert along with the 4 cloves of garlic. Cover and steam until fennel and garlic is very tender, about 10-15 minutes. Remove fennel to a blender. Add broth and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Blend until smooth. Set aside. Place chopped potatoes in steamer insert, cover, and steam until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove steamer insert from heat and allow steam to release from potatoes for a couple of minutes. Push potatoes through a potato ricer in to a bowl (or mash as you normally would). Fold fennel puree into riced potatoes. Taste and season as desired with salt and pepper. Add additional broth if potato mixture is too thick. Set aside. Can be reheated in microwave just before serving.
  3. In a mini food processor, place 1 packed cup fennel fronds, 2 cloves chopped garlic, pine nuts, ⅛ -cup extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, lemon juice and Parmesan (if using). Blend until smooth. You want a thick, spreadable paste. If too thick, add more olive oil. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and more Parmesan, if desired.
  4. Place salmon fillet portions on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each portion with several dollops of pesto and gently smooth over top of fish (you want it to be about ⅛ to ¼” thick). You may not use all the pesto, so be careful not to contaminate your pesto with anything that touches the fish so you can use the remainder of the pesto for another purpose.
  5. Place fish in oven and cook for 20 minutes. Check temperature of fish. You want it to reach about 140-145℉. Continue baking, checking periodically, until it reaches temperature, which may take up to 10 minutes longer.
  6. Portion hot potato puree on each of 4 plates.
  7. Remove fish from oven. Slide a long, thin spatula under each fish fillet to release it from its skin (because you didn’t grease the pan, the fish skin will stick to the foil, making it easy to separate the flesh from the skin). Place a salmon portion on each bed of potato. Serve immediately.
Recipe by Holcomb Farm at https://holcombfarm.org/simply-fresh-week-5-vegetable-broth-and-fennel/