Allow this colorful roasted salmon recipe to introduce you to the tender side of fennel
This is one of those dishes that is simple to make yet nice enough to warrant a company's-coming meal - and it's healthful to boot. If fennel is not something you cook with very often, this is a fine way to get more comfortable with this versatile vegetable.
The white fennel bulb may or may not have stalks and fronds attached to it at the market; typically, you'll trim those for making broth and/or a dill-look-alike garnish. Trim and slice the bulb: Raw, it offers a firm, wonderful crunch for salads. When you cut it into wedges and roast it, the fennel bulb becomes almost meltingly tender and mellow in flavor. The core can be tough, so it is routinely discarded before cooking.
About that flavor: Although advertised as anise-like, the bulb does not impart a heavy dose of licorice notes - the stalks are stronger in that regard. To cook the bulb in quick time, we're parboiling its wedges before they join the tomatoes, lemon and salmon in the oven. With such juicy company, the fish stays moist.
If fennel's not your thing or not always available at your grocery store, you can substitute leeks. See the note in accompanying recipe.
Chances are, this dish will look good just as you assembled it, so you just might want to serve it straight from the baking dish. We're OK with that.