This week's dish delivers maximum results for minimal effort, containing fewer than 10 ingredients that combine to create a delicacy of flavour and texture that's second to none.
If the fruity notes of the gewurztraminer, richness of the salmon and aniseed notes of the fennel don't win you compliments, nothing will. For a side dish look no further than boiled new potatoes.
Steamed salmon with fennel and gewurztraminer
Serves 4
4 x 150g portions of skinless salmon
1tbsp freshly chopped dill
100ml gewurztraminer
20g unsalted butter, for the fennel
1 medium bulb of fennel, cut into thin strips
Half tsp mild curry powder
100ml water
4tbsp double cream
60g unsalted butter, cold and diced, for the sauce
Set the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Season both sides of the salmon pieces with a little salt and pepper, then place them in an ovenproof dish, sprinkling them with the dill and covering with the wine. Top the dish with tinfoil, crimping it around the edge to create a tight seal, then place the dish in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
While the salmon is cooking, melt 20g butter in a pan over a moderate heat. Add the fennel, season with a small pinch of salt and pepper then add the curry powder. Add enough water to cover the fennel and no more - less than the 100ml suggested if necessary - and simmer for 10 minutes. Lift the fennel out of the water with a slotted spoon into a bowl and keep it warm.
Reduce the fennel cooking liquid until five or six tablespoonfuls remain in the pan. Now add the cream to the pan and simmer. Whisk in the 60g cold, diced butter a little at a time until it's completely emulsified with the cream, remove the pan from the heat and check the seasoning.
Place a large spoonful of cooked fennel in the centre of a warm plate with the salmon on top. Gently warm the sauce and spoon a little over the salmon.
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