Bluedot Living will regularly run recipes and tips from Pascale Beale, the popular Santa Barbara-based chef, teacher, and cookbook author.
Beale has long been a proponent of cooking with in-season ingredients. “Every season has its own stars, I believe it’s worth waiting for them,” Beale told Bluedot contributing editor Catherine Walthers in this conversation.
She is also passionate about using every last bit of food in your pantry, and in her regular cooking classes (available online), she stresses to make the most of what you’ve already got. “There is so, so much food waste,” she told Walthers. “Learn to make the most of leftovers, the carcass from a roast chicken kept to make stock for example. I like to do something called a TDF (Tour de Frigidaire), something made out of all the little bits and pieces left in the fridge.”
This recipe first appeared on Beale’s website, where she wrote:
My friends Lynn and John have the sort of edible garden most people can only dream about. I seem to have mastered growing herbs and my potted fruit trees are only just flourishing, but I am a pale amateur compared to Lynn and her prodigious green thumb. When I asked friends if they had any figs for a photo shoot, Lynn offered up her inspiring garden’s bountiful treats including clusters of gloriously stripped figs and magnificent leaves that could grace a botanical catalog. I used the leaves to wrap the salmon in this dish. They impart a subtle flavor to the fish, a fruity note and a nuance of smokiness that compliments the anise of the fennel and the sweetness of the fresh figs.
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RECIPE: Fig Leaf Roasted Salmon with Fig-Fennel Relish
- Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients
- 1 fennel bulb with fronds — bulb diced, fronds roughly chopped
- 12 assorted figs — chopped
- 4 tablespoons dill — finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chives — finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 large fig leaves
- Salt
- 2 1/2 lbs wild salmon filet — cut into 8 equal parts
- Olive oil
- Coarse sea salt
- 2 handfuls watercress leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium-sized bowl, gently combine the chopped fennel, figs, dill and chives.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil to form an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the chopped fennel-fig mixture and toss gently to combine. Set aside.
- Lay a fig leaf shiny side up on a clean work surface. Put some chopped fennel fronds in the center and place one piece of salmon on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and wrap the salmon in the fig leaf, securing it with kitchen twine. Place the finished package in a roasting pan or on a sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining salmon, fennel fronds and fig leaves. Roast in the center of the oven for 16 minutes.
- Unwrap the fig packets and center a piece of salmon on each dinner plate. Discard the fig leaves. Spoon some of the fennel-fig relish on the salmon and scatter with a few watercress leaves. Serve immediately.
