- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely diced onion
- 2 tablespoons diced reserved fennel stalks (see below)
- 2 tablespoons diced leek
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- One 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 1½ teaspoons sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- About 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Grated zest of 1 orange
- 8 fingerling potatoes, cut lengthwise in half and cooked in boiling salted water until tender
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 8 wedges, stalks reserved for sauce, fronds reserved for garnish
- Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- Four 6- to 8-ounce skin-on red snapper fillets (or substitute other firm White-fleshed fish, such as wild bass, halibut, tilefish, or cobia)
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Coarse sea salt
- To prepare the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it’s warm, add the onion, fennel, leek, and garlic and-sauté over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the fennel seeds, tomatoes, sherry vinegar, and sugar and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the tomatoes have broken down and the flavors have developed, about 45 minutes.
- Pass the mixture through a food mill or puree using a hand or regular blender or food processor. For an ultra-smooth puree, strain through a fine sieve, if desired. Return the sauce to the pan and season with salt and pepper; cover to keep warm.
- Cook the potatoes in a small pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain and cover to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan just large enough to hold the fennel in one layer, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the fennel, along with a tablespoon of water, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning once, until tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer the fennel to a bowl, add the fingerling potatoes, and season with a little salt and pepper. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and cover to keep warm.
- Heat a sauté pan just large enough to hold the snapper over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season the fish with salt and white pepper. Place skin side up in the pan and cook until the edges begin to turn opaque, about 4 minutes. Turn and continue cooking until just done (a knife inserted into the thickest part of the fish should reveal a pearly opaqueness), about 4 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, reheat the tomato sauce over medium heat. Whisk in the extra virgin olive oil and the orange zest.
- Spoon the sauce onto individual serving plates. Top with the warm fennel and fingerling potatoes and then the fish. Drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and garnish with the reserved fennel fronds, if desired.