This is a favorite of mine from Ina Garten. It comes out perfectly every time. Have the fishmonger cut the head and tail off the salmon and butterfly it, removing all the bones. You should have about 7 pounds of salmon. And it is wonderful served with dill sauce on the side (see mustard-dill sauce recipe).
Ingredients
5 cups sliced yellow onions, ¼-inch thick (3 pounds)
5 cups sliced fennel bulbs, ¼-inch thick (3 pounds)
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fennel fronds, coarsely chopped
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons orange juice, freshly squeezed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Two 3 ½ pound salmon fillets, cut to the same size
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 500° F.
Sauté onions and fennel in olive oil for 10 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add thyme leaves, fennel fronds, orange zest, orange juice, salt, and pepper and sauté for 5 more minutes, until the onions and fennel are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Lay the salmon, skin side down, on a cutting board and sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper. Spread the fennel filling over half of the salmon. Pull the other half up and over the filling, enclosing it. Tie the salmon every 2 inches with kitchen string to secure the stuffing.
Place a sheet pan lined with parchment paper in the oven for 5 minutes to heat it. Carefully transfer the salmon to the hot sheet pan and bake it for exactly 30 minutes (10 minutes for each 1-inch of thickness). Do not overbake.
Allow to cool slightly, then remove the strings. This salmon is delicious hot or at room temperature.
Yield: 10 – 15
Other Categories
