Smoked Salmon & Fennel

This highly aromatic vegetable is well known to southern Europe and southwestern Asia. Fennel is widely cultivated both in its native range and elsewhere for its edible, strongly-flavoured leaves and seeds. The flavour is similar to anise and star anise, though usually not so strong. Fennel could be pureed, fried, roasted, grilled, confit etc. Among the common recipes are Fennel ala Greque and Grilled Fennel. In contrast, smoked salmon needs no introduction as it is loved by many in this century. Briefly, its a cured salmon fillet undergoing a process of hot or cold smoke. In the States, smoked salmon is sliced thinly and served in bagels with cream cheese or on Melba toast with sliced red onion, lemon and capers. In Europe, smoked salmon may be found either thinly sliced or in thicker fillets (such as tsar fillet) and is usually eaten with bread. Smoked salmon is widely used in Europe as a cooking ingredient, for example in quiches, pasta sauces or in scrambled eggs.