Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Fennel

Today, I'm bringing you a beautiful and delicious salmon dish. While I love the idea of serving it for Valentine's Day, it's really easy enough to recreate any day of the week. Why do you need a made-up commercial holiday as an excuse to make a great meal?

All this recipe takes is a little bit of time. It just requires some upfront vegetable slicing, and then you place the salmon in the oven and let it slowly roast.

This is a great Valentine's Day dinner recipe--it seems fancy and elegant (salmon! roasted citrus! fennel!) but it really is simple to make, allowing you to spend more time with that certain someone. It also feels special--out of the ordinary--from the typical dinner routine. The salmon looks best when it's perfectly imperfect, so you don't have to worry about making it look picture perfect.

Zach and I are forgoing restaurants this Valentine's Day and you should too. I guarantee this salmon dinner is better than the prix-fixe menu with overdone steak. Pop open a bottle of wine, starting preparing some citrus, and enjoy the night in with your love!

Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Fennel

From Bon Appetit 

Serves 6

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly slice

1 blood orange or navel orange, thinly sliced and seeds removed

1 Meyer or regular lemon, thinly sliced and seeds removed

1 red Fresno chile or jalapeño, thinly sliced

4 sprigs of dill, plus more for serving

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 2-lb skinless salmon fillet, preferable center cut

3/4 cup olive oil

Flaky sea salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Toss fennel, orange slices, lemon slices, jalapeño, and dill together in a shallow baking dish. Season with kosher salt and pepper.

Season salmon with kosher salt and place on top of fennel and citrus mixture. Pour oil over the entire dish.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until salmon is just cooked through (the flesh will be opaque).

Transfer salmon to a large platter, breaking the fillet into large pieces. Spoon fennel and citrus mixture over the salmon. Discard cooked dill sprigs and add fresh dill. Season with flaky sea salt and more pepper.

Enjoy!

Thai-Inspired Salmon and Kale Salad

I love salad, particularly any salad with avocado.  Add a thai-inspired vinaigrette, kale and roasted salmon, and I might be in love. This salad is often my brown bag lunch of choice, though some nights it makes for a great dinner. I particularly enjoy it after my gym workout, when I have just spent 45 minutes lifting weights, and I feel like continuing my health kick.

The vinaigrette is inspired by David Chang's recipe. I know, fish sauce sounds weird. It is weird. It's basically a sauce made out of anchovies and salt. But, I do promise it will add flavor to this salmon, and bring in a taste of Southeast Asia. I keep it stocked in my fridge for faux pho and green curry. I promise it sounds weird, but give the poor fish sauce a chance! It'll be a match made in heaven.

Go get your workout on, then come back and revel in this healthy Thai-inspired salad.

Thai-Inspired Salmon and Kale Salad

The vinaigrette will make more than enough salad dressing; store it in the fridge to use for the rest of the week!

Fish sauce vinaigrette:

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Juice of one lime

1/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar, but any type is fine)

1/2 inch cube whole ginger

1 garlic clove

A few drops of Sriracha

Salad:

3/4 cup of chopped kale

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1 shallot, chopped into small pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 3oz fillet of roasted salmon

• Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor.

• Blend until the vinaigrette ingredients are well combined.

• Combine the kale, carrots, shallot, pepper, and avocado in a bowl.  Toss with two tablespoons of fish sauce vinaigrette. 
• Place the salad onto your serving plate. Add the roasted salmon.  Add additional vinaigrette according to your tastes. 

Back to Basics: Roasted Salmon

Some days, I want nothing more than to come home and collapse. This whole week, I have felt one step behind on everything. My to-do list keeps managing to get longer instead of shorter, and there never seem to be enough hours in the day. There are some days where I do not get home until 7:30pm/8pm or so, and all I want is a chef to make me a homemade meal, and a cleaning staff to take care of the kitchen afterwards.

Instead, I am left either with a box of take-out or staring at a fridge with no idea what to make. Luckily, this salmon recipe is healthy, simple to make, and easy to clean up.  I pair it with leftovers in my fridge (salad, quinoa, roasted veggies, leftover pesto, etc) to make a full meal. This recipe is plain, but an essential recipe to have up your sleeve.

So while I cannot bring a chef to your door on the nights you work late, I can bring you a delicious recipe that is ready in under 15 minutes.

Roasted Salmon

Makes enough for one serving

1 3 oz fillet of salmon

Salt

Pepper

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Season salmon with salt and pepper. 
• Place fish, skin side down, on a non-stick cooking sheet. Cook in the oven for 6-8 minutes.  

• The salmon should flake well when done, and be very firm.