Bowl of nutty pesto salmon pasta

Nutty Pesto Salmon Pasta

I recommend this dish with fresh pasta!
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 4 salmon fillets
  • 50g mixed nuts (we used pine nuts, almonds, brazil and walnuts)
  • 30g basil (fresh; washed)
  • 15g parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 clove garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 300g pasta (fresh or dried)
  • selection of vegetables (for accompaniment)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200°C/ fan 180°C/ gas mark 6. Lightly wrap the salmon fillets in foil and place on a baking tray in the oven and cook for 20 minutes (or as per the packet instructions).
  • Whilst the salmon is cooking, make the pesto. Place all the nuts into a small frying pan and lightly toast the nuts until they are a golden-brown colour.
  • Place the nuts into a food processor along with the fresh basil, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. Lightly blitz until you have a coarse texture.
  • When the salmon is nearly cooked, start to cook your pasta as per the packet instructions (fresh pasta will cook quicker than dried). Once cooked, hold back a cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta back to the pan.
  • Steam your accompanying vegetables for 6-8 minutes.
  • Add the pesto mixture to the pasta along with a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water. Mix everything together until the pasta is coated in the pesto. If the pasta is not loose enough add a little more cooking water.
  • Remove the salmon from the oven and flake into chunky pieces.
  • Add the salmon to the pasta and gently mix through making sure not to break up the salmon pieces too much.
  • Serve with vegetables.

Tip:

  • If you don’t want to cook veg separately, add some defrosted peas to the pasta cooking water for the final 2 minutes of cooking time. Then add a handful of fresh spinach when tossing with the pesto.
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