Emerald Salmon

An Emerald Kimono original recipe

Another incredibly easy recipe, this is my go to for when I have friends over. In essence it is just salmon baked with home-made pesto. This recipe is easy to alter depending on how many people you are serving- this serves 4, but you can just add more sauce and salmon fillets if need be. For a big party, I would suggest using a side of salmon, as it is cheaper than buying individual fillets.

Ingredients:

4 Salmon Fillets

100g Basil (for a cheaper alternative, substitute some of the basil with rocket or spinach)

2 Garlic cloves

70g Parmesan cheese (Parmeggiano Reggiano is best)

50g Pine nuts

1 tbsp Lemon juice

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Panko Breadcrumbs

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190°C

• Start by lightly toasting the pine nuts in a small pan, until golden brown. Leave to one side to cool

• Throw the Basil, Garlic, Parmesan and Pine nuts into a blender. Blitz until roughly combined

• Whilst the blender is on gradually pour in the olive oil, until the pesto is a relatively thick paste

• Season well with Salt and Pepper. Add a some of the lemon juice to taste

• Next, Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, into an ovenproof dish which fits them snugly. Smear them generously with the pesto- the more the merrier!

• Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 15 minutes

• Remove from the oven and take off the tin foil. Now, sprinkle generously with the breadcrumbs and cook for a further 10 minutes

• If the breadcrumbs are not yet golden brown, put under a medium grill for 2 minutes to crisp them up

• Check the salmon- it should be opaque at it's thickest point. If you feel it needs longer, pop it back in the oven, it's always better to be safe!

This is perfect served with green beans- par boil them and then sautee in a pan with olive oil, salt and toasted flaked almonds :)

You are bound to have pesto left over. It would be great mixed into my Tabletop Tagliatelle!

All photos in this post are Emerald Kimono originals