Springtime Brunch Recipe :: Apple and Fennel Salad, Tea-Poached Salmon + Potato Cake

Photos by Karen Mordechai

Marcey Brownstein's second course at our Brunch was this delicious plate: a tart and yummy apple fennel salad, topped with a tea poached salmon and a potato cake with a fennel seed vinaigrette. deeelish, see all the recipes below.

Fennel salmon salad
For vinaigrette:
3 tb roasted fennel seed
1 tsp anise seed
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup white wine vinegar
Salt and black pepper
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1 ¼ cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes. Whisk in oil and set aside.

For salad:
2 seasonal apples
1 fennel bulb with fronds
1 small red onion
¼ cup capers, well-drained
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 TB chopped chives
Juice of 2 oranges, zest of 1
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Peel and core apples. Pull a quantity of fronds from fennel, then clean bulbs. Peel onions and slice very thin. Slice apples and fennel bulbs on hand plane or mandoline. Toss with remaining ingredients and refrigerate.

For salmon:
4 each 4 oz portions salmon
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1 onion peeled and quartered
1 carrot peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery chopped
2 bay leaves
3 star anise
2 whole dried thai chili
4 TB lapsang souchong tea
2 TB salt
2 TB sugar
2 cups white wine
4 cups cold water

Combine ingredients and bring to simmer.
Place fish in perforated pan and settle into court bouillon, and lower flame. Poach gently for 8-12 minutes, or until cooked to taste.
Remove fish and allow to cool before handling.

For potato cake:
2 large potatoes
1 spanish onion
2 eggs
½ cup flour
Salt & pepper to taste

Peel onion and potatoes. Starting with the onion, grate both on a box grater, using the largest available side. Stir in eggs and flour, and season to taste. Pan fry in vegetable oil.

recipes courtesy of Marcey Brownstein Caterers