Salmon with Pesto Butter
and cauliflower rice / asparagus

Name: Salmon with Pesto Butter
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 10 oz Asparagus, trimmed; 1 Tbsp Oil, cooking; 1 Tbsp Water; 2 tsp Lemon juice; 4 Tbsp Butter; 2 Tbsp Basil pesto (ingredients listed separately); 1 Lemons, wedges; 1 lb Salmon fillets; 1 Tbsp Oil, cooking; 12 oz Cauliflower florets; 1 Tbsp Butter; 2 Tbsp Pine nuts; 1 clove Garlic, peeled; 1 1/2 oz Basil leaves; 2 tsp Lemon juice; 4 Tbsp Oil, olive

Active: 35 Total: 35

Original GF Paleo Vegetarian

Since the pesto butter was the star of this meal that we last featured in 2019, we wanted to bring it back. This meal is packed with flavors of spring.

Ingredients

Metric

Servings:

Pan-Seared Asparagus:

Asparagus - 10 oz , trimmed
Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
Water - 1 Tbsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Salmon with Pesto Butter:

Butter - 4 Tbsp
Basil pesto (ingredients listed separately) - 2 Tbsp
Lemons - 1 , wedges
Salmon fillets - 1 lb
Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp

Cauliflower Rice:

Cauliflower florets - 12 oz
Butter - 1 Tbsp

Basil Pesto (for 2 nights):

Pine nuts - 2 Tbsp
Garlic - 1 clove , peeled
Basil leaves - 1 1/2 oz
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Oil, olive - 4 Tbsp

Prep

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 butter (portion for cauliflower rice). Season with some salt and pepper; or 2) Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add butter (portion for cauliflower rice). 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)
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)
Make pesto butter - Defrost butter (portion for salmon) in the microwave just until soft. Combine butter with pesto (portion for tonight; reserve remaining pesto for Wednesday). (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Asparagus - Trim asparagus. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Lemons - Slice into wedges. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
Salmon - Rinse and pat dry. Season with some salt and pepper.

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Make

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.
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.
If cauliflower rice was made ahead, reheat in the microwave.
Squeeze lemon juice (portion for asparagus) over asparagus.
Serve salmon and asparagus over cauliflower rice. Spoon pesto butter over salmon while fish is still warm. Serve lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!

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