Salmon fillets make an easy weeknight dinner – Press Enterprise

Quick to cook with endless ingredient variations, salmon fillets are a favorite weeknight entrée. This delicious version is from Amy Riolo’s cookbook, “Quick and Easy Mediterranean Recipes” (New Shoe Press). The salmon marinates for one hour in a mixture of orange juice and extra-virgin olive oil plus pinches of salt and pepper, giving the fish a welcome citrusy flavor boost.

Once marinated and placed in a baking dish, slices of fresh fennel and sweet onion scatter around the fillets. While it bakes, covered, a mixture of Greek yogurt, minced orange zest, and chopped green fennel fronds are combined to make a tasty topping.

Citrus-Marinated Salmon Fillets with Fennel

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 salmon fillets, about 4 ounces each, skin on

1 fresh fennel bulb, trimmed, thinly sliced (reserve green fronds)

1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 oranges, 1 zested, 1 thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. For marinade: In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, juice, salt, and pepper together until well combined. Place salmon fillets in an ovenproof glass baking dish and pour marinade over the top. Marinate for 1 hour.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scatter fennel and onion slices around the sides of the salmon and cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is opaque, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine yogurt with 2 tablespoons finely chopped fennel fronds, and orange zest. Remove fish from oven and place on plates. Use a thin spatula to remove fish, leaving most or all the skin behind in the baking dish. Serve salmon surrounded with fennel-onion mixture and top each serving with a dollop of yogurt mixture. Garnish with orange slices.

Source: “Quick and Easy Mediterranean” by Amy Riolo (New Shoe Press)

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at @CathyThomas Cooks.com.