ROAST SALMON WITH FENNEL & APPLE SALAD

PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

(+ STANDING) SERVES 10

2.5kg whole salmon, cleaned,

head removed

1 medium onion (150g),

sliced thinly

1 medium lemon (140g), sliced 4 fresh bay leaves

6 sprigs fresh basil

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 cup (250ml) verjuice

(see tips on page 133) lemon wedges, to serve

FENNEL & APPLE SALAD

¼ cup (40g) dried currants

¼ cup (60ml) verjuice

80g fresh flat-leaf parsley,

leaves and stems

1 large fennel bulb (550g)

2 small apples (260g)

¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan. 2 Wipe salmon cavity clean; season inside and out. Fill cavity with onion, lemon, bay leaves and basil. Secure opening with skewers.

3 Line a large oven tray with foil, then baking paper; brush paper with oil. Place salmon in the centre. Pour verjuice over salmon; fold foil and paper over salmon to enclose tightly. 4 Bake salmon for 50 minutes or until almost cooked through. Remove from oven; stand for 20 minutes.

5 Meanwhile, make fennel and apple salad.

6 Carefully peel away skin from salmon. Transfer salmon to a large platter. Remove skewers.

7 Strain cooking juices into a small saucepan; place over high heat for 2 minutes or until hot. 8 Top salmon with half the salad; drizzle with warm cooking juices. Serve salmon with remaining salad, reserved fennel fronds (from salad) and lemon wedges.

FENNEL & APPLE SALAD

Combine currants and verjuice in a small bowl. Cover; stand for 10 minutes or until required.

Pick leaves from parsley; finely chop half the parsley stems, discard remaining stems. Reserve fronds from fennel. Thinly slice fennel using a mandoline or V-slicer. Peel and core apples; cut into matchsticks using a mandoline or V-slicer.

Place currant mixture, parsley leaves, chopped parsley stems, apple, fennel and oil in a large bowl; toss gently to combine. Season to taste.