Pistachio Pesto Encrusted Salmon Alongside Roasted Romanesco

Wine & Dine Wednesday a super easy but oh so satisfying weeknight meal that could easily be served to company. Oh my word, company. What a concept. Missing having folks over tremendously but knowing the finish line is nearing so getting incredibly excited. We have not had a meal inside unmasked with guests for close to a year now. Hoping this next month or so we get our shots. My hope is that you all do too. I know from talking with some of you that you already have, which makes me over the moon happy. I digress, now back to tasty salmon!

Our friend Heather told me about this recipe. I was going from memory so I tweaked it a bit. We have salmon almost every week, so I am always looking for ways to change it up. We have a Whole Foods a few blocks from the apartment that always carries a beautiful variety and out on the island, our beloved Vashon Thriftway almost always has some filets in their seafood offerings. OK here is my shortcut. I bought a small bottle of beautiful Italian pesto. We often make it but I spent the whole day shooting images for the new book so any shortcut was going to make sure we had a good meal on the table with minimal work. I chopped up a handful of pistachios and added them to the pesto. By all means, whip up the pesto if you have the time or desire.

OK, here goes. I always buy a one pound filet which feeds two hungry Teds. Oven to 400. This was served over basmati rice. I always start the rice first as it takes a half hour. Just enough time to get everything else ready so it is all done at the same time. A big gorgeous head of bright green Romanesco was looking awesome. Cauliflower would be great too. Break up the florets and scatter onto a baking sheet. A liberal dose of extra virgin olive oil and salt over all and get into the oven as this will take close to a half an hour as well. Check every ten minutes, moving things around on the pan to make sure they cook evenly. You want a nice golden on them. As I mentioned, I took a handful of salted pistachios and chopped them up medium finely. Add that to the pesto and stir together to combine. In a baking dish or another baking sheet, put a glug of evoo on the bottom that the salmon will rest on. Put the salmon on top of the light coating of oil. Take a small lemon and squeeze that over the top of the salmon, along with a nice amount of salt & pepper so the salmon is seasoned. Now spoon the pesto on top. Take the back of the spoon or your hands to smooth it all out so it completely covers the salmon. You want a thin layer. Put into the hot even along with the Romanesco. Depending on the thickness of the filet, cooking time will be anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes. It also depends on how pink and done you like your fish.

I put a generous amount of the basmati rice in a shallow bowl and made a bed for the rice and veg to snuggle up next to one another. Enjoy!

After we had the meal, I looked back at what Heather had sent me. The recipe called for Panko breadcrumbs to be added to the pesto as well as a thin coating over the top of it all after it was put on the salmon. Oh well! I don’t really think it was needed but will try it next time and report back. That is the thing I like most about cooking, is it allows for creativity.