Fancy Pants Salmon

Fine Cooking magazine offers many recipes, most from the editors and writers on staff and sometimes from chefs. The chefs recipes tend to be a little "fancier," maybe with an extra garnish or sauce to embellish the plate. I like to try the chef's recipes because, as a cook, I tend to pick up something new from preparing these dishes. Sometimes it is a cooking technique; other times it might be a new flavor combination. The chef's recipes tend to push me a little out of my cooking comfort zone and that's good because I want to keep learning. So tonight with a little extra time on my hands, a breather from the dreaded 6th grade homework, the laundry done, and dear husband home at a reasonable hour, I ventured upon a recipe from Tom Douglas, a chef and frequent contributor to FC. I've made his recipes before and I knew I could expect some big flavors.

This one is Spice-Rubbed and Sear-Roasted Salmon with Honey-Glazed Fennel. It's from an article from FC 92 on the technique of searing fish and then finishing it in a really hot oven. I'm happy to report that I have now made all the recipes from this article. And they're all very good and worth making. In fact, I have to say that there's really no better way to cook a fish fillet in the house. You get a nice crust from the sear and then flip and put it in the oven to finish.

For the rub in this recipe, I was introduced to a new spice called Sumac, often used in middle eastern cooking. The taste is not too strong. It has a sweet spiciness to it with a bit of musky cumin scent. You could substitute sweet paprika if you can't find it. Many Thanks to my blogger friend Amy for sending me some because I couldn't find it that easily.

Ok, so the salmon is rubbed with a spice mix and it gets sear-roasted with some sliced fennel in the pan. And when the salmon is done, you remove it, and glaze the roasted fennel with a honey lemon sauce. Here's where the chef stuff comes in. I've had fennel paired with sweet things, like orange. But mostly this has been raw fennel. I had never had fennel cooked tender and then glazed with a sweet/sour taste. The licorice taste of the fennel is still there. But the fennel gets all melty textured and when glazed with the melty sweetness of honey and you get a soft, sweet, savory taste. You top the cooked salmon with the this fennel and THEN you top the fennel with a salad of matchstick apples and fennel fronds tossed with lemon, salt and pepper. Pepper on apples was a revelation. If you haven't tried it, you must. Now.

So here's your fancy pants dish: a rich piece of spicy salmon topped with melty sweet soft fennel and garnished with a crunchy tart apple salad. It is a tasty and unique combination of flavors that really isn't too much trouble and is a restaurant-caliber dish you can make at home.

I won't bother to type this one out. If you can't get the recipe through the link but would like to try it, you can drop me a line and I'll be glad to send it to you.