The Sincerest Form of Flattery...

Sometimes the cliches are correct. In this case, I decided to try out a recipe from my friend Chrissy over at Chronicles of a Fledgling Home Cook, namely her recent post on Fennel Crusted Salmon with Roasted Fennel, Tomato and Lemon. Salmon craving, check. Fresh fennel in the crisper, check. An overabundance of fresh lemons, check. The only thing I did different was to throw in a tablespoon or so, of capers, and I used scallions in place of the green garlic.

Fennel Crusted Salmon with Roasted Fennel, Tomato, and Lemon
Adapted from Chronicles of a Fledgling Home Cook

Ingredients:
2 large fennel bulbs, sliced (reserve some of the fennel fronds for garnish)
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 stalks of green garlic
1/2 cup of brown onion, sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
lemon juice
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 salmon fillets
2-3 tsp fennel seeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine fennel, tomatoes, garlic and lemon slices in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Toss to coat well and place in a roasting pan in the oven for about 25 minutes until vegetable are nearly fork tender.
Meanwhile season your salmon with olive oil, salt, pepper and top with some lightly crushed fennel seeds. Place on top of the roasting vegetables and continue to cook an additional 10-15 min until salmon is done.
To serve, place roasted veggies on a plate, topped with a salmon fillet. Drizzle with lemon juice and garnish with fennel fronds. We loved the simple and sophisticated flavors that surrounded this dish. It is definately going to be a repeater for us.

I wasn't quite sure what kind of wine to serve with the salmon. We've been drinking mostly reds lately. I asked Chrissy, and she suggested a pinot grigio. I pulled out the only one we had in the wine cooler. It was the Danzante 2004 Pinot Grigio. This proved to be a perfect match for the salmon. The citrus notes accented the lemon in the vegetable mixture. Dry and crisp, yet the medium bodied structure held up to the richness of the salmon. I wouldn't hesitate to get this one again.