Happy Monday loveys! (I can hear you complain, “ah, not so loud, it’s Monday morning!”).  True, so we will keep easy for today.  How about some good food and hotness  to start the week right? Below is the recipe of the first meal that Aiden and Elisa share.  Can you guess where it was? It was at Aiden’s home, for her graduation (that she decided to skip).  Roasted Wild Salmon and Apple-Fennel Salad.  It’s super-easy! 

As I was finished editing Thirty Nights, I got the idea of collecting all its recipes and sharing them.  So here is the first.  Hope you enjoy it.  I actually felt good after eating this (trying to use my “first book fifteen”).

WILD SALMON and APPLE-FENNEL SALAD 

Ingredients for the Salmon (serves four):

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 4 skinless wild Sockeye or Chinook salmon fillets (about 5 ounces each)
• 1 cup very thinly shaved fennel (from 1 bulb)
• 1 cup of small cherry tomatoes (mixed colors)
• A few springs of flat-leaf parsley
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Coarse salt for sprinkling
• Zest of half a lemon
• Five medium-thickness lemon slices

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart

Ingredients for the Salad:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• juice of half a small lemon
• juice of half of a small blood orange or regular orange (preferably Valencia)
• 1/2 cup very thinly shaved fennel (from 1/2 bulb)
• 1 apple (preferably Golden Delicious apple), thinly sliced or julienned
• 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds (optional)
• 2 generous cups of mixed greens (preferably arugula, mache, pea shoots, baby kale, butter lettuce, and dark leaf baby lettuce)
• salt (pepper optional)

Preparation For Salmon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix five tablespoons of the olive oil with the lemon juice and rub each salmon fillet.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to a large ovenproof skillet over high heat (preferably Pyrex), and swirl to coat pan. Layer the lemon slices and fennel on bottom.

Place salmon, skinned side up, and surround with the cherry tomatoes. Sear until golden, about 3 minutes. Flip salmon, and transfer to oven. Roast 5 minutes (for medium).

Take out; season salt and pepper; drizzle some olive oil over it; and garnish with the flat-leaf parsley sprigs.

Preparation For the Salad

Place all the baby greens, the fennel, the apple in a large serving bowl.  Separately, whisk or mix together the olive oil, orange juice, and lemon juice, until they are thick and emulsified. Toss over the salad, sprinkle salt to taste, and add the pomegranate seeds.  Layer on top of the salmon or to the side, and enjoy!  Print the photo below for extra nutritional effect. 🙂

David Gandy: The Appetizer, Entree, and Dessert of Every Meal.