Erica De Mane

Crispy salmon with Sicilian flavors.

Recipe:

Oven-Seared Salmon with Orange and Fennel Whole Wheat Couscous

Salmon, it’s a wonder food, right? Isn’t it the diet Dr. Perricone insists on? If you eat nothing but salmon and broccoli, you’ll be smooth-skinned, sleek, and gorgeous? Salmon is a lovely fish, but it’s a rich one, almost too rich.
After many years cooking it, I’ve come to understand two big truths about it.

The first is that salmon needs acid to break up its richness. Lemon is good, of course, but orange, which I’ve chosen for my recipe here, or tomato, or wine, or lemon mixed with mustard, capers, a touch of vinegar—those are all good options. I’ve never understood the French habit of presenting salmon in a cream sauce. That, to me, is the French palate at its worst. But a dish even more sickening than that, and one probably invented by my own people, the Italian-Americans, is a pasta version of that concept, sort of a salmon fettuccine Alfredo: salmon, either smoked or fresh, heavy cream, some type of grated cheese, garlic, and fettuccine, all tossed together into a bowl of throat-slicking fat. That was popular in midpriced Italian-American restaurants in the 1990s (and also at wedding buffets). The very thought of it gives me a gag reflex.

The second truth is that salmon tastes best when blast-cooked with its skin still on. There are a few ways to achieve this—grilling, for sure, but a quick pan sear with a finish in a really hot oven gives you a delicious crisp skin (rich in Omega-3) and a moist, slightly pink, very tender center.

Salmon is not an Italian fish, but it has become popular in fancy restaurants there as a sort of exotic attraction. It’s interesting what happens when Italian chefs get their hands on salmon. They make it taste Italian. And, unlike the French, they seem to understand its need for acid and punchy flavors. In Puglia several years ago I ate a grilled salmon drizzled with a lemon anchovy oil and scattered with mentuccia, a local wild mint that tastes something like a cross between basil and oregano. That was a brilliant approach to a rich, oily fish, and it was Southern Italian through and through. I love grilled salmon covered with seared cherry tomatoes, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and a shower of fresh mint. I make it in the summer, throwing both the salmon and the cherry tomatoes right on the grill.

I’ve reached into my bag of Sicilian flavors to season up my sear-roasted salmon here, choosing fennel and orange and a hit of basil for a good transitional dish, a sort of segue into spring before spring produce is actually available. And in my continuing quest to rid my life of refined carbohydrates, I’ve gone with whole wheat couscous as an accompaniment. It’s actually really delicious. It doesn’t taste health-foody at all.

Happy spring dieting.

Oven-Seared Salmon with Orange and Fennel Whole Wheat Couscous

(Serves 4)

4 slices, about 6-ounces each, of salmon fillet, skin on
1 small palmful fennel seeds, ground to a powder
The grated zest from 1 orange
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
The juice from 1 lemon

For the couscous:

1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small fennel bulb, well trimmed and cut into small dice
3 scallions, chopped, using some of the tender green part
About a dozen fennel seeds
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Black pepper
1 bay leaf, fresh if possible
1 orange, peeled and chopped into a dice, plus its grated zest
A handful of basil leaves, lightly chopped, plus four nice-looking basil sprigs for garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix the ground fennel, orange zest, salt, and black pepper with two tablespoons of olive oil, and coat the salmon slices all over with the mixture. Refrigerate the salmon while you prepare the couscous.

Pour the couscous into a serving bowl, and have some type of lid ready (a plate will work fine).

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil and the butter over medium heat. Add the fennel, scallion, and fennel seeds, and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, sugar, a little salt, black pepper, and the bay leaf, and simmer for about 3 or 4 minutes. Scatter the diced orange and zest over the couscous, and then pour on the hot broth. Give it a quick stir, and then cover it. Let it sit while you cook the salmon.

Get a large skillet very hot over a high flame. Add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear, without moving them around at all, until nicely browned, about 4 minutes. Place the skillet in the oven without turning the salmon, and roast until just tender with a touch of pinkness at the center, around 4 or 5 minutes.

Set out four warmed dinner plates. Uncover the couscous, add the chopped basil, and fluff it with a fork. Taste for seasoning, adding a little salt if needed. Serve the couscous onto the plates, and place a piece of salmon, skin side up, over each serving. Give the salmon a squeeze of lemon juice, and garnish each with a basil sprig. You can also garnish the plate with a little pile of lightly dressed watercress or arugula, if you like.

Serve right away.