Alder Roasted King Salmon With Wild Fennel Pollen Recipes

ROASTED WILD SALMON WITH CARAMELIZED FENNEL AND FENNEL-FROND PESTO

Steps:

• Pesto: Turn on a food processor and drop garlic through tube; process until finely chopped. Add pistachios and pulse until coarsely ground. Add fennel fronds, lemon zest, fennel seed, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; pulse to combine. With machine running, gradually add both oils until combined. (Pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week.)
• Salmon: Preheat oven to 425°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Using a rasp, zest 1 lemon (you should have 2 teaspoons), then cut into 1/8-inch-thick wheels. Cut second lemon into wedges. Toss panko with 2 tablespoons oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in lemon zest.
• Toss fennel wedges with remaining 3 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly onto two rimmed baking sheets and roast, rotating sheets once, until golden brown in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Flip fennel, add lemon wheels, drizzle with oil, and roast 5 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, season fish with salt and pepper. Mix together yogurt and 3 tablespoons pesto; spread a thin layer of mixture over fish. Sprinkle panko mixture over top, patting gently to adhere.
• Remove fennel from oven; push fennel and lemons aside to create room, then add fish. Roast until fish is almost completely opaque in center, about 8 minutes. Serve fish with fennel and roasted lemon wheels, more pesto, and lemon wedges.

ALDER GRILLED FRESH ALASKAN KING SALMON WITH A LIGHT JUNIPER AND SAGE MARINADE

Steps:

• Preheat a grill.
• Whisk together celery seed, garlic, lemon pepper, onion, chopped sage leaves, thyme, oil, balsamic vinegar, wine, plum vinegar, and a dash of water (quantities of liquid and dry spice ingredients are best adjusted to individual taste). Place alder chips over coals of grill to add flavorful smoke (mesquite may be substituted). Dredge fillets lightly in marinade then rub in juniper berries and a few whole sage leaves. Place on hot grill (medium high if controllable). Cook for about 10 minutes per side. (Salmon is best cooked until it is still moist, but flesh starts to flake easily with a fork and translucency is gone. Salmon is a bit forgiving, so if it's not quite done, put it back on the grill...but don't cook it until it dries out!) Garnish with lemon slices.

WILD SALMON WITH FENNEL AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. Trim any fronds from the fennel and chop 3 tablespoons of them and set aside. Thinly slice the fennel bulbs, discarding the cores. Select a baking dish or heavy skillet, which can go on top of the stove, to fit the salmon. Place it in the oven, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and when the butter has melted after a minute or so, scatter the fennel bulbs in the pan, turning it with tongs to coat with butter. Return pan to the oven for 10 minutes.
• Place the salmon, skin side down, in the baking dish on top of the fennel, season with salt and pepper and dot with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter. Return the pan to the oven. Reduce the heat to 225 degrees. Let bake 15 minutes for rare, 20 minutes for medium-rare. Turn off oven.
• When the salmon is done, transfer it to an oven-proof serving platter and surround with the cooked fennel. Tent with foil. Place in the turned-off oven with the door slightly ajar to keep warm.
• Place the baking pan on top of the stove on medium-high heat. Add the pistachios and give them a quick stir. Add the lemon juice and wine and bring to a lively simmer. Reduce the liquid to about 1/3 cup. Lower heat and whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter bit by bit. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, remove the fish and fennel from the oven and spoon the sauce over the fish. Strew the reserved fennel fronds over top and serve.

KING SALMON WITH BRAISED FENNEL AND ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Season salmon with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and clarified butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place fillets, skin side down, in the skillet, pressing down on fillets with your fingers or a spatula. Cook fish 5 minutes, turn, and continue cooking 1 minute more. Transfer fish to four serving plates and serve immediately with braised fennel and artichokes.