Fennel and apple belong together! The fennel is faintly bitter and anise-y, and the honey crisp apple is sweet and tangy. Sliced thin enough that they start reading as one crunchy, perfumed thing.
The dressing is everything though. Dates soaked in cider vinegar then blitzed into with caramelized onion, dijon, and olive oil. It’s this thick, glossy vinaigrette that clings to everything in the salad. Throw in some dill, chopped dates, and toasted walnuts. This one is a banger and subtly fall.
The salmon pairs so beautifully, but this salad is good enough on its own if I’m honest.
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK TIME: 30 minutes
Ingredients (serves 2)
Date-Cider Viniagrette:
½ yellow onion, sliced (not too thin or they will burn)
⅓ cup good olive oil
2 Medjool dates, pitted
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup water, plus more as needed
Kosher salt and black pepper
Apple & Fennel Salad:
1 fennel bulb (I only shaved half)
1 crisp apple (Honeycrisp or Pink Lady)
Handful of toasted walnuts
3 Medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup dill, roughly chopped
¼ cup mint leaves, torn
squirt of lemon juice
Salmon
2 skin-on salmon fillets, about 6 oz each
Kosher salt
1 tbsp high smoke point, neutral oil
Step 1: Prep the salmon
The night before, leave the salmon uncovered in the fridge on a wire rack to dry out completely.
30 minutes before searing, pat the salmon very dry.
Score the skin making shallow parallel cuts through the skin and slightly into the flesh to prevent the fillet from curling and to help it crisp evenly. This step is optional but I love doing it and I think it’s beautiful!
Season all over with 1 tsp salt and leave uncovered on a plate while you do everything else. This brings the temp of the fish up from fridge cold and helps it cook more evenly.
Step 1: Salad
Shave the fennel as thinly as you can, mandoline if you have one. Cut the apple into thin matchsticks and squeeze a little lemon over them.
Chop the dates. Mince the dill and break up the mint leaves.
Put everything in a bowl together except the walnuts. I add those at the end so they don’t soften with the dressing.
Step 2: Vinaigrette
Soak the dates in the cider vinegar for at least 30 minutes, longer if they're very firm or dry. They should give easily when you press one against the side of the bowl.
Cook the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-low with a pinch of salt, stirring now and then, until deep golden and completely soft, about 20-25 minutes. Don't rush this on higher heat — you want sweet and jammy, not crisp and bitter.
Blend the onion, dates, and vinegar with the Dijon, a good pinch of salt, and plenty of pepper. With the blender running, stream in ⅓ cup olive oil until it emulsifies, then add about ¼ cup water to loosen it, more if you want it thinner. Taste. Between the onion, the dates, and the apple to come, this whole plate leans sweet. You can add more vinegar or a squeeze of lemon to brighten it.
Step 2: Sear the Salmon & Plate
Pat the salmon dry.
Get a stainless steel pan piping hot over high heat until water beads on the surface.
THEN add a glug of high smoke point neutral oil. Add the salmon skin-side down and press gently. You can use a weighted meat press for the first minute if you have one. This insures full contact of the skin to the pan.
This is the secret: Turn the heat down immediately to medium-low.
Leave the salmon undisturbed for about 5 minutes, until the flesh has turned opaque three-quarters of the way up the fillet. Flip only for the last minute or so. I like to pull my salmon at 125 degrees. It will carryover on the plate to finish (process where food continues to cook and increase in internal temperature after you remove it from the heat source).
Toss the salad with the vinaigrette (you will have a little extra, add little by little and taste).
Plate the salad and top with the fillet skin-side up. Add the toasted walnuts and enjoy!
