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Edited on Sun Dec-21-08 12:49 AM by pipoman
with a lot of class is Grilled Salmon with Basil Pesto on Linguine. It is a great 'women's dish', the pink salmon with the green pesto pasta is a beautiful plate, men definitely like it too. The biggest challenge is the fresh basil. It is available year round, but not every store sells it. If there is a gourmet store in your area try there, otherwise you can use the small packages of fresh basil at most grocery stores. Get around 6-8 oz fresh basil. Place the basil in a blender or food processor along with 2 cloves garlic, some pine nuts (sunflower nuts will work too), 1/4 c. fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, start your blender with the center cap off, pour extra virgin olive oil in as the blender runs. Pour until the mixture begins to roll nicely, you will know what I mean when you see it(1 to 2 cups oil). It won't look like much volume but don't worry, it will be enough. Taste the mixture, you will need to add salt, how much depends on how salty your cheese is, it should be slightly salty. Set aside at room temp.
In a small bowl add 1 c. olive oil, and some finely chopped oregano (dry oragano will work in a pinch), and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Let this set at room temp while you prepare the salmon. Next take approx 6 oz of salmon per serving. Skin the salmon, on the skin side there will be a dark strip. With a sharp knife remove this dark strip, it is why some people don't like salmon. Put the salmon in a mixing bowl, and pour the oil/oregano mixture over the salmon coating it well. Now your prep is done. Around 30 minutes before serving boil water, a little oil and a little salt for the pasta. 20 minutes before serving add the pasta to the boiling water. If you have an indoor grill have it hot and ready to go 10 minutes before serving, this can be done in a dry skillet too. Place the salmon on the grill 8 minutes before serving turn after around 3 minutes, remove when cooked through, try not to over cook it, the oil mixture will keep it moist. Remove the salmon from the grill, place immediately into a pan, cover with foil and place in a preheated 200 degree oven. Drain the pasta when to desired doneness, then immediately begin stirring in the pesto, about 1/2 at a time until the pasta is uniformly covered. If you need to hold this, place it back into the pan you cooked the pasta in and cover, do not put the pan on heat, let the heat from the pan keep it warm. Plate it with the pasta on the bottom, the salmon on top, and sprinkle with a bit of parm. and maybe a bit of shredded basil leaves. Serve with garlic bread or bread sticks.
I recently served this dish to a group of 150 nurses, rave reviews. Total prep time, less than 1 hour. Cooking time, 30 minutes.
Just my $.02.
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