Sunday, June 17, 2012

Salmon with "Peasto"


For a welcome home dinner I made roasted salmon with "peasto" - a pesto-pea sauce, skillet potatoes and balsamic spinach.

To make "peasto":
Simmer peas seasoned with salt and pepper, just barely covered with water, with the rind of good Italian parmesan in the pot to add a nutty, salty flavor to the broth as it melts (I keep the rinds in the freezer after using up the cheese, to use in soups); add parsley if fresh.

While the peas simmer, make fresh pesto: blend basil leaves with good olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper, and walnuts (I chose this nut because I had a lot on hand, but pine nuts work as well), and fresh lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Let the peas cool down before adding them to the blender, mixing with the pesto until a creamy sauce texture. I reserved about a fourth of the peas and stirred them in for varying textures in the sauce, chilling the peasto to let the flavors meld. This is a great make-ahead sauce and freezes well, so you can reserve some for future meals. In addition to pairing it with salmon, as I did, it would of course work with pasta or on crostini as a spread, or even as a dipping sauce for fresh vegetables. Peasto is a healthy veggie creation that's packed with flavor!

To prepare the dinner, I let the peasto come to room temperature before topping the salmon with it to marinate before roasting in the oven. While the salmon baked, I sauteed new potatoes with caramelized diced onion and yellow peppers, seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper and fresh grassy parsley. I served up baby spinach with a light tossing of balsamic and olive oil on the side, to compliment the savory peasto salmon. I realize it might sound odd and resembles baby food, but as my best friend likes to say, "some of the weirdest-looking foods are the most delicious." Try it!

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