Tired of dinner decisions? Enjoy a 14 day trial to our meal plan service, voted #1 by Lifehacker, and reduce your mental load today.

Week of 4/29/19

Salmon with Pesto Butter
and cauliflower rice / asparagus

Active: 35 Total: 35
Original GF Paleo Vegetarian
Salmon with Pesto Butter

This fresh tasting meal is so quick and easy to prepare, it's a great choice for any night. Asparagus pairs beautifully, but feel free to use other vegetables if it isn't available.
Smarts #1: This meal includes a recipe for a batch of pesto, but you'll only need a small amount to serve in a compound butter over tonight's salmon. Save the rest of the pesto for later in the week.
Smarts #2: If you want to reduce the fat / calories in the meal, feel free to skip the butter and just spoon pesto directly over the fish.

Tags
Freezer Friendly, Dependent Meal Pairs
Proteins
Fish, non-canned
Cuisines
American
Save recipe
103

Ingredients

Metric
Servings:
4
Basil Pesto (for two nights):
  • Pine nuts - 2 Tbsp , sub walnuts
  • Garlic - 1 clove , peeled
  • Basil, fresh - 1 1/2 oz
  • Lemon juice - 2 tsp
  • Oil, olive - 4 Tbsp
Salmon with Pesto Butter:
  • Cauliflower florets - 16 oz
  • Butter - 2 Tbsp + 4 Tbsp
  • Basil pesto (ingredients listed separately) - 2 Tbsp
  • Lemons - 1 , wedges
  • Salmon fillets - 1 1/4 lbs
  • Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
Pan-Seared Asparagus:
  • Asparagus - 10 oz , trimmed
  • Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
  • Water - 1 Tbsp
  • Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Prep

  1. Cauliflower rice - Pulse florets in a food processor until broken up into ‘rice’-sized bits. Cook rice in one of two ways: 1) Microwave for 4 to 5 minutes and then fold in first portion of butter. Season with some salt and pepper; or 2) Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add first portion of butter. Saute cauliflower in heated butter for ~5 minutes, until tender but still crunchy. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Watch this video for the full how-to on cauliflower rice. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)

  2. Make pesto - (This makes enough for 2 nights.) Toast nuts in a dry skillet or frying pan until fragrant and golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Peel garlic cloves. Place nuts, garlic, basil leaves, and lemon juice (portion for pesto) in a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well chopped. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil until smooth. (Add some additional olive oil if needed to help everything blend.) Season to taste with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)

  3. Make pesto butter - Defrost second portion of butter in the microwave just until soft. Combine butter with pesto (portion for salmon). Reserve remaining pesto for Wednesday. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)

  4. Asparagus - Trim asparagus. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)

  5. Lemons - Slice into wedges. (Can be done 1 day ahead)

  6. Salmon - Rinse and pat dry. Season with some salt and pepper.

Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again

Try for free
Learn More

Make

  1. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil (portion for asparagus) and then asparagus. Sear asparagus, turning with tongs to get it started cooking on all sides. Add water and cover the pan with a lid to steam the asparagus until tender, ~3 minutes for thin spears and up to 8 minutes for thick spears. Season with some salt and pepper. Set aside.

  2. Wipe out pan and return to heat. Add cooking oil (portion for salmon). Cook fish on both sides until golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes total, depending on thickness.

  3. If cauliflower rice was made ahead, reheat in the microwave.

  4. Squeeze lemon juice (portion for asparagus) over asparagus.

  5. Serve salmon and asparagus over cauliflower rice. Spoon pesto butter over salmon while fish is still warm. Serve lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!

Reviews

Ratings

0 reviews