Salmon with Pesto Sauce

I think this blog is good for Friday meals.  I'm getting more creative with the fish!  We had Salmon smothered in Pesto Sauce with Pesto Pasta on Friday night.  I surprised myself, I didn't think it was going to be too fantastic, but the Pesto sauce turned out very well and it paired really well with the salmon.

Usually Pesto sauce is made with pine nuts, but the price of pine nuts prohibits me from using them!  So I went with walnuts and I think they worked really well as a substitute.  I made the sauce in our magic bullet, but I imagine that you could make a larger batch in a food processor.  You might also be able to use an immersion blender for this, but you'd probably have to start with the olive oil, garlic, and nuts, then add the rest of the ingredients slowly. 

Pesto is a great sauce because all of the ingredients are raw (which means more nutrition!) and it's not incredibly rich like white sauces.   The raw garlic cloves are immune boosters, walnuts have lots of omega 3's, extra virgin olive oil has good plant fats, and basil aids in digestion and is a mood booster!  For me personally pasta is a mood booster (ha ha ha!) just because I like it. 


Salmon with Pesto Sauce
from my own brain (since I know the ingredients that go in pesto I never really looked at a recipe for it)

Ingredients
1/2 salmon filet (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2tbsp butter
1tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

(pesto sauce)
4 large cloves of garlic
2 handfuls of fresh basil roughly chopped
1/3c extra virgin olive oil
1/4c parmesano reggiano
1/4c walnuts (I've also used pecans and almonds with success too.  Traditionally pine nuts are used.)


Method
1.  Place all the ingredients for the pesto sauce in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Add more extra virgin olive oil if it gets too thick. 

2.  Dot the salmon filet with butter, then sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

3.  Bake the salmon in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

4.  After 30 minutes take the samon out and pour on some of the pesto sauce so that most of the filet is covered.  Return it to the oven for 2 minutes.

5.  Serve the salmon with pasta tossed with pesto sauce.

Yum! 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
  thank you for a relaxing evening with friends on Friday.  Help us all to treasure the people that you put into our lives and always treat them with love and respect.  Amen.