Sous Vide Salmon with Fennel Salad

Delicate, perfectly cooked salmon fillets, done in a Sous Vide, accompanied by a fennel, dill and roasted cherry tomato salad. Served alongside a delicious miso dressing, this is a healthy, nutritious and satisfying meal.

This post is sponsored by Russell Hobbs. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make It’s Not Complicated Recipes possible.

Inspiration for this Sous Vide Salmon:

I absolutely love salmon. It is a fish that benefits from many different cooking treatments, styles and flavours. It works well in Asian dishes, when garnished with Mediterranean flavours or even in Mexican preparations.

I recently discovered the Russell Hobbs Master Slow Cooker & Sous Vide. When developing a recipe using this fantastic appliance, I wanted to highlight the delicate flavour and texture of the salmon and serve it alongside clean, fresh flavours.

Why we love this recipe:

Healthy eating doesn’t necessarily mean complicated. We love how simple this dish is to prepare, whilst being nutritious and full of flavour.

The salmon fillets cook to perfection in the Sous Vide, and the salad is so quick to prepare. The crunch of fennel, sweetness of cherry tomatoes and the slight warmth of the dill add the perfect balance of texture and fresh flavour.

The miso dressing takes just minutes to prepare, and enhances the flavour of the salmon and salad, without overpowering the overall dish.

Delicious hot or cold, this is a healthy meal ideal for entertaining, or also perfect packed as a work lunch.

Serve your salmon fillet whole, or flake it over the fennel, dill and roasted cherry tomato salad – you’ll discover it is so tender and it will just fall apart.

It quite literally melts in your mouth.

What is Sous Vide?

The term Sous-vide is French and translates to “under vacuum”. A water bath is used to cook the food, which is sealed inside a plastic pouch. The controlled temperature of the water bath allows the food to gently cook, retaining the delicate flavours of the food.

As well as the Sous Vide feature, the Russell Hobbs Master Slow Cooker & Sous Vide also allows you to create tasty dishes using the Slow Cooker feature, or Temperature Probe. Slow cooking your food is ideal for busy lifestyles and lots of mouths to feed, and the temperature probe feature allows you to cook your food to perfection every time.

The benefits of cooking Sous Vide:

• Set the temperature, add your food and walk away until it is cooked;
• Never overcook or undercook your food;
• The natural juices of the food will be captured, adding to the delicate flavour;
• Impress your family and friends with restaurant quality food;
• New to cooking? This is a simple and effective way of preparing food. A foodie pro? You will love just how incredible the food tastes!
• Perfect for creating a meal for one or feeding a crowd when entertaining.

Ingredients in the Sous Vide Salmon and Fennel Salad:

Salmon Fillets:

I buy centre-cut salmon fillets with the skin on. This gives you flexibility to quickly fry the salmon, skin side down, after you have Sous Vide the fish, if desired. Or, easily remove the skin.

It is important to buy fish that is very fresh. Fresh fish should not have an overly “fishy” smell, rather, a mild ocean-like scent.

The salmon fillets should be firm and have a bright appearance.

Salmon is known for its myriad of health benefits. It is rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids, packed with Vitamin B and a great source of protein. It is also truly delicious, especially when prepared in the Sous Vide.

Fennel:

Fennel is an incredibly popular vegetable, native to the Mediterranean. It is delicious raw, sliced thinly – it is crunchy, with a slight anise flavour. Fennel is also delicious when roasted, becoming slightly caramelised in flavour.

It also has many nutritional benefits; iron, potassium and Vitamin C to name a few.

You can eat all parts of a fennel bulb. Although closer in appearance to celery, fennel is actually a member of the carrot family.

Fennel is a beautiful accompaniment to the Sous Vide Salmon and works well with other fish dishes also.

Dill:

We use fresh dill fronds in our salad. Like fennel, dill is something that just works so well with seafood.

It is perhaps best known for being a flavour enhancer in pickles, and adorning potato salads.

Cherry Tomatoes:

I love adding a pop of colour to dishes, especially salads. By quickly roasting some cherry tomatoes, you enhance the flavour, adding a slight sweetness.

Although simple to prepare, this adds another fantastic element to the dish. We want this Sous Vide Salmon to highlight the many different flavours and textures these delicious ingredients have to offer.

Ingredients in the Fennel Salad Dressing:

• Miso
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Sesame Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Honey

Dressings should always have a balance of flavours. Miso is slightly salty and works well with the sharpness of the vinegar and lemon juice, sweetness of the honey and warmth of sesame oil.

This dressing packs a flavour punch, and only a small amount is required.

How to prepare the Sous Vide Salmon and Fennel Salad:

To begin, you’ll need to prepare the Sous Vide. Place the rack into the bottom of the ceramic bowl.
Add warm water to the bowl and fill up about half-way. (I use warm tap water.)

Put the lid on the Sous Vide and lock the handles in place. Attach the temperature probe into the jack, and through the lid.

Switch on the appliance and set the temperature and time. For this recipe, I cooked the salmon on 46 degrees C for 30 minutes.

As it reaches temperature, prepare your salmon by seasoning with salt and pepper, and placing in a seal lock bag.

Once the Sous Vide reaches the correct temperature, gently add the salmon, and lock the handles back into place.

Whilst the salmon is cooking, prepare the salad and miso dressing. Make the miso dressing by combining all ingredients and whisking gently.

Roast the cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Prepare the fennel by removing the core and the outer layer if it is tough, and thinly slice. Combine the fennel and tomatoes with some dill fronds, and a little lemon juice and olive oil.

Remove the salmon once cooked, and gently take out of the seal lock bag. At this point, you can fry it in a cast iron skillet skin side down for a few minutes or remove the skin and discard.

Plate your dish and enjoy the salmon whilst warm or allow to cool completely and serve cold.

Tips for Success:

This is a dish that works perfectly both hot or cold.

If enjoying hot, I recommend preparing the salad and dressing whilst the salmon is cooking in the Sous Vide.

If looking to enjoy the salmon cold, remove from the Sous Vide, and allow the salmon to cool to room temperature before storing in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Prepare the salad and dressing when required.

What are some variations to this recipe?

This is an incredibly flexible recipe when it comes to varying what you serve the Sous Vide Salmon with.

Here are some ideas:

• If you are unable to find dill, flat-leaf parsley will also work well in the salad;
• Semi-dried tomatoes are a great alternative to cherry tomatoes;
• Try roasting your fennel for an added depth of flavour;
• If you are looking to increase your carbohydrate content, I would also add some boiled baby potatoes or even a side of soba noodles.

Other ways to enjoy salmon:

• Smoked Salmon Bread Tartlets
• Salad of Smoked Salmon
• Smoked Salmon Pate

The beautiful flavours in this dish and perfectly cooked Sous Vide Salmon really are a delight. I do hope you’ll give this recipe a try, and I would love to hear from you in the comments below when you do!

Alex xx