16 Nov Recipe: Baked Salmon with Fennel & Orange

Roberta Muir will be regularly sharing with CHILDmags her delicious recipes for quick and easy family meals, many of which teens can cook on their own, as well as some of her favourite easy sweet treats and special occasion dishes.

Baked Salmon with Fennel & Orange
Fennel, oranges and oregano are delicious flavourings for almost any seafood, and I especially like them with a thick piece of crisp-skinned salmon. If you or someone in your family doesn’t like eating salmon skin, still cook the fish with the skin on as the oils add flavour to the flesh and help keep it moist during cooking; you can always peel it off and discard it before eating. By cooking the salmon as a whole piece, you’ll find that the ends are a little more cooked than the centre, a great way to cater for different tastes within the family; if everyone wants it cooked all the way through, just leave it in the oven for a little longer as salmon’s quite forgiving and even the thinner pieces won’t dry out.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 600g piece salmon fillet, skin on, pin-boned
• 1 bulb fennel
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1½ tablespoons oregano leaves, sliced
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 orange, halved and thinly sliced (skin and all)
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Crusty bread for serving

METHOD

1. Remove fish from the fridge 30–60 minutes before cooking.
2. Wipe the skin with paper towel to ensure it’s dry and remove any remaining scales. Place in a shallow bowl, skin side down.
3. Reserve fennel fronds, thinly slice the bulb and place in a separate mixing bowl.
4. Add garlic, oregano, onion, orange, oil, salt and pepper to the fennel and toss to combine well.
5. Pour over the salmon, cover and set aside for 30–60 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°C.
7. Transfer everything except the salmon to a small baking dish and place in the oven for 10 minutes.
8. Wipe the salmon around the bowl to remove as much of the oil and juices as possible.
9. Place it in the baking dish on top of everything, skin side up, and sprinkle skin generously with salt.
10. Bake for a further 20 minutes or so, until cooked to your liking, then turn the overhead grill on for 2–3 minutes to crisp the skin.
11. Scatter with some of the reserved fennel fronds and serve in the baking dish with crusty bread on the side.

• You’ll find a print-friendly version of this recipe (to serve 2) here
• And more deliciously easy salmon recipes here.

Roberta Muir is the author of four cookbooks, a certified cheese judge and Sherry educator, and a restaurant reviewer and cooking teacher. She also has a Master of Arts degree in Gastronomy. You can find out more about her via her weekly newsletter.