Foodie Friday : Salmon with fennel and pomegranate salsa

A couple of months ago I got a really good deal on 5kgs of snap frozen salmon portions.  I've always loved Atlantic salmon, but 5kgs is a lot and we're starting to tire of it just a bit, so Mum and I are busy thinking of new and wonderful ways to make it more exciting!

Enter a recipe for slow cooked salmon with fennel and pomegranate salsa I found over at Once Upon a Plate (totally fabulous foodie blog!!)  We didn't slow cook our salmon but the writer, Mari,  says its really wonderful done that way - you can find the recipe for that here - along with much better photos than mine :)

So my version of this is basically just pan frying or oven baking the salmon until its cooked to your liking (no recipe needed there!), and then adding the salsa over the top.  I had never used, or even tasted pomegranate before, but literally the day after I found this recipe and pinned it on Pinterest, I stumbled across pomegranate on special at my local shops - and so decided we had to try it.

This is a very fresh tasting recipe - the tartness of the pomegranate and aniseed flavour of the fennel really cut through the oiliness of the salmon beautifully.

So - here is the recipe for the salsa:

Pomegranate arils (seeds) - I used one pomegranate
Shallots/ spring onions (green parts only, finely sliced)
Coriander (amount to your taste, chopped)
Juice of one lime
Salt flakes
Freshly ground pepper

I just mixed it all together and put it over the cooked salmon.  We had saddleback potatoes (cut slices into your potatoes, not all the way through, baste with olive oil and salt and bake until cooked) and steamed beans.

One tip I will give you that I learned in this process: don't mix the salsa as it turns the fennel pink!  The second time I made this (and sadly, didn't take photos!) I kept the pomegranate separate and peppered it through the salsa as I was serving - it presents MUCH better this way!  (We also overcooked the salmon on this occasion - it was still good though).

Mum had spinach (mixed with cream, nutmeg, salt, parmesan cheese and a dob of butter - then steamed in the microwave) instead of beans.

We still have quite a bit of salmon, so there is every chance you'll be seeing another salmon offering very soon!

Bye for now :)