Salmon fillet with nori, fennel and radish
Salmon and fennel are a great combo – their soft textures and delicate flavors complement each other perfectly. For this dish, I've made two different fennel preparations: a crunchy fennel salad that contrasts with a velvety fennel purée. I created this dish for a dinner party with friends and it was a big hit.
The dish has three parts, and you can do a fair amount of work ahead of time. You can prepare the salmon until just before steaming. You can make the fennel puree the day before and you can also chop the vegetables for the salad in advance. That way, you can spend time with your guests and just do the finishing touches during your party.
Recipe: Salmon fillet with nori, fennel and radish
This recipe serves four people.
Ingredients:
- 400 g salmon fillet, skin on
- Salt and pepper
- 2 sheets of nori
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 3 sprigs of chervil
For the fennel puree:
- 1 fennel
- 2 floury potatoes
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 knob of butter
- ¼ teaspoon of fennel seed
- ½ L vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons of cream
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
For the crunchy salad:
- ½ fennel
- 8 radishes
- ½ red onion
- 25 g arugula
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- Salt and pepper
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Step 1: prepare the salmon
Heat the oven to 195°C.
The first step is making the salmon skin. This will be used to finish the dish. To make the salmon skin, take the skin off the salmon and put it on a baking sheet, with the outside facing up. Make sure there are no scales left on the skin. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the skin and bake in the oven until crispy, which should take about half an hour. Let the skin cool and break it into coarse pieces.
Now it's time to prepare the salmon fillet. Place a sheet of nori on a cutting board and moisten it with water. Season the salmon fillet with salt and pepper and place on the nori sheet. Bring the sides up along the salmon fillet. Moisten the other sheet and place it on top of the salmon. Roll the fish tightly. Cut the roll into four equal pieces and place them in the refrigerator.
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Step 2: prepare the fennel puree
The bottom layer of this dish is fennel purée. To make the purée, start by removing the hard part of the fennel and cutting the vegetable into coarse pieces. Then, peel the potatoes and cut them into similar chunks. Finally, finely chop the garlic.
Next, heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and fennel seeds and sauté without browning them. Then add the fennel and potatoes and sauté them briefly. After that, add the broth. Cook over low heat until the vegetables are soft. Drain but reserve a few tablespoons of the broth. Blend the fennel and potato into a smooth purée. If you need to, add some broth to get the right consistency.
To finish the fennel puree, mix in the cream and add nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste.
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Step 3: prepare the crunchy salad
Fresh, crunchy vegetables are the perfect contrast to the tender fennel purée. Take your mandolin and slice the fennel, radishes, and red onion super thin. Mix with the arugula. Make a vinaigrette with olive oil and rice vinegar and mix it under the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Step 4: steam the salmon
Now it's time to steam the salmon. Put the pieces of fish in a steamer basket and steam for about four minutes, until the salmon is almost cooked through. Don't overcook it, though—it should still be slightly opaque in the middle.
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Step 5: Time to serve the dish!
Re-heat the fennel purée. Divide the purée among four shallow plates and top each one with a piece of salmon. Drizzle the puree with some olive oil. Arrange the crispy fennel salad around the salmon. Finish the plates with the crispy pieces of salmon skin, the sesame seeds, and the chervil sprigs.
![Salmon with Nori Fennel Radish 00110]()
