Seafood

Pan Fried Salmon with Roast Fennel and Cherry Tomatoes served with Fusilli in Fennel Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

-         500 grammes Salmon Fillet

-         2 fennel bulbs with stalks and fronds

-         20 cherries tomatoes about 200 grammes

-         Flaky sea salt

-         Ground pepper

-         1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

-         2 tablespoon olive  oil

-         ½ cup plain flour

-         2 tablespoon cooking oil for frying

Pasta and Pesto Sauce:

-         250 grammes Fusilli

-         Coarse sea salt for cooking pasta

-         Fennel stalks and fronds from the fennel bulbs above

-         1 clove garlic

-         8 tablespoon or ½ cup olive oil

-         4 mint leaves

-         1 tablespoon lemon juice

-         Flaky salt to taste

Method:

1.      Rinse the salmon fillet and take out the remaining bones with a pair of tweezers and remove the scales from the skin. Cut the fillet into four even portions and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Season the fillet pieces with flaky salt and pepper on all sides, set them aside.

2.      Preheat the oven to 220C /425F for conventional oven or 210/410F for convection oven.  Heat up a big pot of water.

3.      Cut off the stalk and fronds from the fennel bulbs and save them for the pesto sauce. Cut the bulbs into halves lengthwise and cut each half into 2 – 3 wedges. When the water is boiling, add coarse sea salt and the fennel, boil them for 10 minutes and drain.

4.      Cut fennel stalks in small rings and pick the leaves from the fronds. Cut the clove of garlic into thin slices. Put the fennel stalk, stalk of the fronds, garlic slices, mint leaves, lemon juice and olive oil into a blender. Blend the mixture  well, add salt to taste and set this pesto sauce aside.

5.      Rinse and dry the cherry tomatoes.  Pierce the top end of each tomato with a bamboo skewer and put them in a roasting tin with the drained fennel. Spread them evenly, sprinkle some flaky sea salt and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top of them and put them into the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

6.      While the vegetables are in the oven, boil another big pot of water for the pasta, when the water is boiling, add coarse salt and dry fusilli, cook as directed in the package or till al dente and drain.

7.      Heat up a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Dust the salmon fillet pieces in plain flour on all sides (make sure you shake off excess flour) and put them in the pan when the oil is hot. Put the skin side down first and use a spatula to gently press the fillet down to prevent the fillet  curl up when they start shrinking.

8.      Fry the skin side for 1 to 1 ½  minutes till it is brown, then turn to the side and fry each side for 1 minute. Fry the side opposite to the skin last. You may need to tilt the pan to get the oil to the meat on this side because this side cannot sit evenly in the pan. Take the fillet pieces out with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil.

9.      Toss the fennel pesto into the drained fusilli and sprinkle the fine fennel leaves onto the pasta. Serve the Salmon on top of the roasted fennel and tomatoes.

Hint:

-         Cutting the salmon fillet to smaller portion helps to judge the doneness of the fish. You can actually see the meat turns colour.

-         The timing of frying the salmon above will give you a soft centre result.  Adjust your own time if you want it rarer or more cooked.  Don’t forget the fish will still be cooking for a while after you take them out from the frying pan.

-         Using flour to dust the salmon before frying helps reduce oil splashing, holds the meat better and gives a better colour.

-         If you want a crispy skin, fry the skin side longer and reduce the frying time of the other sides.

-         You can also peel the skin of the cherry tomatoes.