Venturing Out Again...

As we go into our 3^rd year of the Covid pandemic 😩… we are vaccinated and boosted and do get together with friends occasionally.  We recently enjoyed a delightful evening with our friends, Charlie and Marcia Russell.  Below is the recipe for the wonderful salmon dish that Charlie prepared.  My contribution to the dinner was the apple fennel slaw recipe that follows. 

 

Salmon Spinach and Feta Roast

★★★★★

Fish, Light/Low Fat

Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Difficulty: Easy Servings: 4-6 Source: My Collection

INGREDIENTS

1 whole salmon fillet, skinless

10 ounces frozen spinach thawed or 1 lb fresh spinach steamed and squeezed dry 

Garlic cloves, minced, to taste

8 ounces feta cheese, block not crumbled, cut in ¼ inch thick slices

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Lemon wedges

Dill sprigs, for garnish

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 (375 if convection oven).

Combine spinach and garlic in microwave safe bowl and cook till garlic is softened, 1 to 2 minutes on high. Set aside to cool.

Cut salmon fillet in half crosswise. Turn one half of salmon skin-side up and cover with spinach garlic mixture. 

Top spinach with the sliced feta. 

Top with the other half of salmon, turning so the thickness of the roast is nearly even and skin side down. 

Using butcher's or cotton string, tie roast at 1-inch intervals to hold tightly together. 

Place on foil lined rimmed baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Cook roast for 20-30 minutes or till cooked through to desired doneness. 

Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Remove strings, slice and serve. 

Garnish with fresh dill and lemon wedges. Serve with a pilaf.

NOTES

A full filet will taper toward the tail end and may be thinner near the head. In this case, cut the filet in 3 pieces cutting off the tail end where the taper begins and the remaining piece in half. Place the tail end on top of the thinner area near the head. This will equalize the thickness of the roast and avoid over or under cooking any part of the roast. Then proceed with building the roast. 

If you want more browning to the roast, reduce cook time by 5 minutes and broil 4-5 inches from heat for the final 5 minutes. 

I reversed engineered this recipe from a roast I bought at a grocery fish counter. This isn't exactly the same but it's close. I added garlic to give it a bit more flavor. You may have another herb you'd like to add to the spinach mix to complicate the flavor even more. 

The cook times are approximate so keep an eye on it. If you don’t want to buy an entire fillet, you can buy cut fillets and make individual servings. You can try this with other thick fillet fish. 

 

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Here is the salad I contributed to the dinner with Charlie and Marcia…

Apple-Fennel Coleslaw

Ingredients

• 1 small green cabbage (about 1 pound), shredded (about 5 cups)
• 1 small fennel bulb, thinly shaved (about 1 cup), reserve the fronds for garnish
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (about ¾ cup) (I used green onions instead.)
• 1 tart-crisp apple, such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp, peeled, cored and julienned
• About ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
• Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoons honey, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• ½  teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• ½  cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro, mint, basil or a fresh tender herb of your choosing (Note:  this is optional.)

 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, fennel, onion and apple. Season with the salt and toss to combine. (The cabbage may need more salt, so taste as you go.)

In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the vinegar, oil, lime juice, honey, celery seed and pepper. Taste, and sweeten with more honey, if desired, and season with a small pinch of salt. Slowly pour the vinaigrette over the slaw ingredients, using just enough to lightly coat all the cabbage. (You may have some leftover.) Toss the slaw to evenly distribute the vinaigrette, then fold in the cilantro. (See the note below about the dressing.)

Sprinkle with reserved fennel fronds, if desired.

The slaw can be served right away, but is best after about 15 minutes of rest. The cabbage and onions will absorb the flavor of the dressing the longer the slaw sits.

Note:  Instead of the dressing in the recipe above, I used the following dressing recipe…

 

Apple Cider Vinegar Salad Dressing

Ingredients 

·       ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

·       ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

·       1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

·       1 tbsp. honey

·       1 garlic clove, minced optional

·       ½ tsp. salt

·       ½ tsp. pepper

Instructions 

Just place all of the ingredients into a mason jar and shake for a good 30-60 seconds, until combined (or whisk all the ingredients in a bowl).