I’m reading a fabulous cookbook right now (Hillary Davis’ Cuisine Nicoise) about the cuisine of Nice, France. Known as Provençal cooking, this specific region of southern France focuses on a variety of fresh ingredients from the area: olive oil, citrus fruits, fish, tomatoes, olives, fresh herbs, wine…and the list goes on and on. Because the area was originally founded by Sardinians, the overall theme is very similar to Italian cuisine but with a French flair.
For this baked salmon dish, I combined some of my favorite Provencal ingredients into one entree. Salmon filets coated in herbes de Provence and orange zest are baked on top of a tian of sorts made from yellow potatoes, onions, garlic, fennel and tomatoes. To finish it all off, briny black olives are scattered about and a drizzle of fruity olive oil is applied. Colorful plates like these are always the most tasty to me, and using a variety of vegetables is always a healthy choice.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Baked Provençal Salmon
Ingredients:
- 2 (6-7 oz.) salmon filets
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence
- 1 Tablespoon fresh orange zest, chopped
- Olive oil
- 1 fennel bulb, stems removed, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 large tomato
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 large yellow potato, sliced
- 1/4 cup pitted black olives, preferably Nicoise, but Kalamata are good, too
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Season each salmon filet with a pinch of salt and pepper, half of the herbes de Provence, and half of the orange zest.
- Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil spray. Arrange the potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic and fennel (all prepped) in a shingled fashion on the prepared pan. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt and a big grinding of black pepper. Place the prepped salmon on top of the vegetables.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the fish cooked through. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the black olives scattered on top of everything.
Tagged: baked salmon, black olives, Cuisine Nicoise, fennel, France, garlic, herbes de provence, Hillary Davis, onions, orange zest, Provencal, Provence, salmon, tomatoes, yellow potatoes
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