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Fennel and Herb Salmon Fillet

In this recipe, fennel seed, Mexican oregano and red pepper flakes are combined with black pepper to create a flavorful and aromatic rub that balances the richness of the salmon while complementing the hints of smoke that the fish acquires on the grill. Fennel seed adds a delicate, refreshing licorice taste, reminiscent of anise, while Mexican oregano contributes an intense herbal aroma and bold flavor, with hints of anise and sage. If you cannot find a large salmon fillet, use two smaller ones.

By williamssonoma · From Open Recipes · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Fennel and salmon work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 253 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

By williamssonoma. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Fennel + salmontop 8% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together253 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  2. Fennel + lemontop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together723 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Pepper + lemontop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together27,039 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Fennel + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,216 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  5. Olive + lemontop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together10,849 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the mexican oregano

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fennel, pepper, olive, salmon, lemon):

  1. Dillbetter flavor fit
  2. Thymebetter flavor fit
  3. Parsleybetter flavor fit
  4. Mexican oreganothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fennel, pepper, olive, salmon, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).