A Change of Heart

Fennel. Ugh. How did this become such a trendy ingredient? Were there fennel lobbyists somewhere fighting to get more fennel inclusion in Top Chef recipes? Into the pages of magazines? All over the damn place? Well...I have a vague memory of trying fennel once. I couldn't even tell you what I ate. Not even venture a guess. All I know is that fennel is described as having an anise flavor. Anise as in licorice. And not Twizzlers. So I was not a fan.

But alas, it seems the imaginary fennel advocates have beaten me down, and recently I decided to give in and give fennel another shot. I had heard that when roasted it loses most of its "licorice-y" flavor. So I searched for a recipe that allowed for that preparation and kept my fingers crossed.

The outcome? I got another easy fish recipe to add to my repertoire (I can ALWAYS use more fool-proof fish recipes). And for the fennel? Well, lets just say I can't remember what all my fuss was about in the first place!!

Roasted Salmon with Red Onion, Fennel and Tomatoes (adapted from Real Simple, October 2005)
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 6-8 oz fillets of salmon, skin on
1 red onion, cut into wedges (I did sixths)
1 medium fennel bulb, cut into 1 inch wedges
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 garlic cloves, peel removed and smashed
1 lemon, quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Toss the onion, fennel, tomatoes, garlic and thyme in 2 teaspoons of olive oil, as well as half of the salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and place in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.


Once the veggies have roasted, remove the tray and clear some spots for the salmon fillets.


Drizzle the remaining teaspoon of olive oil over the salmon, sprinkle it with the remaining salt and pepper, and squeeze 1/4 to 1/2 of the lemon over each fillet. Toss the leftover lemon onto the sheet to go back into the oven - roasting the lemons brings out a great flavor.


Stick everything back into the 400 degree oven for around 12 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily and is an even color throughout. If your fillets are thicker than an inch to inch & quarter, add a few minutes. If you have thinner fillets, shave off a minute or two.

We served the roasted salmon and veggies with our simple side of Israeli cous cous.


This was truly a "set it and forget it" type of meal that required little prep or attention to detail. Everything from start to finish took about 35 minutes. Guess I'll have to re-visit my list of banned foods and see what else I can offer a second chance!