It’s warm weather wine season in the Napa Valley, and we have been on a quest to find a perfect food pairing to go with our favorite pink juice: aka, our newly-released Rosato! Salmon is always a nice complement to rosé, and we love this recipe for crispy seared salmon from Food & Wine.
The skin on this luscious fish is as crisp as a potato chip. The secret: cooking the salmon fillets skin side down – no flipping necessary.
Here’s what you need:
1 large fennel bulb – halved lengthwise, cored and thinly sliced cross-wise
¼ cup very thinly sliced red onion
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped dill
2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
4 6-oz salmon fillets
In a bowl, toss the fennel with the onion, lemon juice, dill and 2 tbsp of the oil; season with salt. Let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the salmon with salt. In an ovenproof skillet, heat the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons of oil until shimmering. Add the salmon fillets skin side down, and using a spatula, gently press the fillets to flatten. Cook over moderately high heat until the skin is crisp and the salmon is rare within, about five minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the salmon is nearly cooked through, about two minutes. Transfer to plates, skin side up. Serve with fennel slaw.
Recipe courtesy of Food & Wine.