The bulb of the fennel plant is an absolute favorite ingredient of mine, and when roasted with tomatoes, onions and peas, it turns into a savory stew that stands up to the flakey lemony salmon. This is one of those dishes that’s incredibly easy to make if you’re doing a million other things, and you can easily substitute other vegetables you find at the farmer’s market.

Salmon with roasted spring vegetables
Serves 4

1 large fennel bulb, sliced
1 large red onion, diced into wedges
6 cloves garlic
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 cup of fresh peas
1/2 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
1 lemon, halved
Fennel fronds for garnish

Make the dish
Heat oven to 400° F. Place the fennel, onion, garlic, tomatoes, peas, thyme sprigs in a roasting pan (or any baking dish). Toss with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper to coat. Roast for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the salmon and pat dry with paper towels. Move the vegetables to the sides of the pan and place the fillets in the center. Squeeze the lemon over the salmon, and sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper. Return to oven and roast until the fillets are the same color throughout and flake easily, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer salmon and vegetables to individual plates. Garnish with fennel fronds.

Grey poupon Dijon works for me whether in sauces, on a sandwich or in salad dressing.

Mustard cream is one of my favorite sauces for salmon. I absolutely love the flavor of mustard, its pungency and the way it adds a bite to the cream. And any time you have mustard and cream, you have to add wine and shallots. They all just work together so nicely over the mildness of salmon.

I popped into Citarella on Sixth Avenue for the mustard and the salmon, but these are ingredients you can find anywhere. Strange as it seems (I guess if you can’t get away from your computer) Citarella does offer online ordering.

Salmon with mustard cream sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup dry vermouth
3 shallots, minced
1 cup whipping cream
4 salmon fillets
1/4 cup unsalted butter, in pieces
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
Salt
Ground pepper

Make the dish
Whisk 2 tablespoons cream in small bowl to soft peaks; cover and refrigerate. Combine wine, vermouth and shallots in a heavy large skillet. Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add salmon. Cover and simmer until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer fish to plates using a slotted spatula and cover with foil to keep warm.

Place skillet with poaching liquid over high heat. Boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Gradually add butter, whisking until melted. Add mustard and chives and whisk to blend. Remove sauce from heat. Add chilled heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper and spoon sauce over fish.