no. 5 | let's make: citrus salmon with shaved fennel, orange, and coconut jasmine rice

This is my peak transitional meal, when I'm seeking comfort food while relishing in the remnants of summertime.

The final product, that makes for an easy week-night meal and great leftovers.

The transition from summer to fall often places me in a temporary cooking lull, as I feel myself coming down from the “high” of all the incredible summer produce. Saying farewell to farmer’s market tomatoes and juicy peaches is nothing short of devastating. It often takes me a few weeks to shift my mind and conceptualize meals that lean comforting, while still preserving a freshness that will ween us off the temperate weather. Now that we’re in October, I can safely say I’ve reached this point. Enter: the best salmon recipe, ever. Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. This is probably not the best salmon recipe ever, but it’s damn good, and it hits every flavor and texture I want when I eat fish. Let me break it down.

The salmon is marinated in a deliciously tangy citrus mixture, seared on the stovetop for a subtle blackened effect, placed atop a crunchy, bright fennel salad, all resting on a bed of the fluffiest, slightly sweet coconut milk rice. Not only does this recipe incorporate seasonal produce (I am absolutely addicted to Cara Cara oranges), but it encapsulates the juxtaposition of both warmth and brightness that I yearn for at the start of fall.

Ingredients:

Salmon

• 1lb salmon

• 1 Cara Cara orange, juiced and zested

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp soy sauce (my favorite brand)

• 1 clove garlic, grated (love using my microplane for grating)

• 1/2 knob ginger, grated

• Dill, chopped

• Salt and pepper

Salad

• 2 bulbs fennel, shaved

• 1/4 stock fennel leaves (attached to the fennel bulbs)

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

• 1 Cara Cara orange, supremed

• Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

  • 1 Cara Cara orange, juiced

  • 1 tsp dijon mustard

  • 1 tsp maple syrup (or brown sugar)

  • Salt and pepper

Coconut Rice

• 1 cup jasmine rice, washed

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (full or low fat)

• Salt

Optionally

• Pickled onions on top (or in the salad)

Marinating the salmon and quick-pickling some onions (an optional aspect of this recipe, but great to have in the fridge).

Instructions:

1. Add your raw salmon fillet into a large mixing bowl. Add your orange juice, orange zest, olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, dill, salt, and pepper into the bowl, and give a good mix or light massage, incorporating all the ingredients together. Allow to marinade for 30 minutes.

2. In the meantime, prepare your rice. Measure 1 cup of jasmine rice, and rinse thoroughly under warm running water until the water runs clear (why should I rinse my rice?). Add the rice to a pot or rice cooker with your water, coconut milk, and salt. Prepare based on rice cooking instructions on the package.

3. In the meantime, start your salad ingredients. Separate the fennel bulb from the stock and leaves. Set the stock aside for later. Using a mandolin (or a sharp knife) thinly slice the bulb of fennel.

4. For our fresh orange slices, you can either peel and slice the oranges however you’d typically do so, or you can supreme them. Add to the fennel shavings.

Supreming is the act of cutting off the ends and the peel of the orange, then using a sharp knife to carefully dissect the oranges from the pith (white membranes) of the orange. This leaves you with beautiful segments of the orange, that are not only visually appealing but more pleasant to eat in salads.

5. Peel your shallot. Using the mandolin or a sharp knife, thinly slice the whole shallot bulb, leaving you with thin rings of shallot. Add to your fennel and oranges.

6. To prepare your dressing, add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper to a jar or small bowl. From here, you can pick your method of combining (emulsify with an immersion blender, whisk in a bowl, or shake vigorously in a jar).

7. Toss your fennel, oranges, and shallots in this dressing.

Optionally, you can grab a small bunch of fennel leaves from the stock and roughly chop, then add to your salad. You can set this aside, as it will only absorb flavor over time and tenderize the fennel.

8. Once your salmon is finished marinading, you’ll want to heat a pan over medium high. Add a small amount of high-smoke point cooking oil (i.e., Avocado oil), then add your salmon to the pan. Sear on both sides for 5 minutes, or until the fish is firm and flakes.

A few notes here: if your salmon has skin, start cooking skin-side-down first. Then flip. The skin will peel off very easily this way. My second note is that if you prefer to bake your salmon, you are free to do so, you just may loose some of that marinade in the process (and it won’t get that nice browning). My third note is, if you are going the searing route, once you place that salmon in the pan, don’t move it around. This will give it a fantastic crust.

9. Time to plate! Add your cooked coconut rice to a plate, top with your fennel salad mixture, and place your finished salmon fillet on top. Garnish with more fennel leaves. Enjoy immediately!