If salmon sounds good, but the going rate for a slab doesn’t – and let’s face it, the price is enough to nearly knock you to your knees – is there any way to put this fish on the table without putting yourself in the poorhouse?
You betcha. And here it comes, thanks to the collaboration of world-renowned and award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson and Knorr.
The executive chef and co-owner of Aquavit and Riingo in New York, Samuelsson says of the following recipe, “When I visited the Italian city of Genoa, I quickly learned that basil is everywhere. Most homes keep a small basil plant perched on the balcony, and wild basil covers the surrounding hillsides. This vivid and fragrant herb is the star player in Genoa’s most famous dish, pesto, a beautifully balanced blend of basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil. In recent years, pesto has expanded beyond the hills of Genoa to become a staple dish around the world.
“Here, I combine some of my favorite flavors from my native Sweden – salmon, potatoes and fennel – with pesto sauce for a globally influenced dish that’s easy to make and even easier to enjoy.”
And – tada! – possibly even better yet, just 12 ounces of salmon stretches to feed four when you make his razzle-dazzle:
Salmon pesto
2quarts salted water
1/2pound tagliatelle or fettuccine
1quart Knorr chicken broth
1fennel bulb, halved
8new potatoes
2shallots, peeled
6garlic cloves, peeled
2(6 ounces each) boneless, skinless salmon fillets
1package Knorr pesto sauce mix, prepared according to package directions
1/4cup extra-virgin olive oil
1teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
Juice from 1-2 lemons
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the tagliatelle or fettuccine and boil until al dente. Drain and rinse; set aside.
In medium saucepot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add the fennel and potatoes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic and salmon. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 15 minutes or until salmon is cooked.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the salmon, shallots, garlic, fennel and potatoes. Reserve the cooking liquid. Cut the potatoes, shallot and fennel into 1/2-inch slices, cut the garlic in half and shred the salmon into bite-size pieces.
Transfer 1 cup of the poaching liquid to a deep pot and bring to a boil. Stir in the pesto sauce and remove from heat. Add pasta, poached vegetables and olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the salmon and drizzle with lemon juice. To serve, divide the pasta among 4 bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.
The next Forum will appear in Friday’s Time Out section.
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