Pesto Salmon Pasta

Using some egg noodles we picked up from La Pasta, some Coho salmon from Loki Fish Co., basil from our garden, I whipped up a pesto salmon pasta for dinner tonight. I used a pesto recipe from a cookbook called, simply, Italian, that I found on the discount shelf at the Kinokuniya Bookstore at Uwajimaya. It was very clear, and had great photos. Here's my boiled down to the basics version of their recipe (which included instructions for either food processor or morter & pestle methods).

Basil & Pine Nut Pesto
About 40 fresh basil leaves
3 garlic cloves
1 oz pine nuts
2 oz finely grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 Tbspn extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
1 1/2 lb fresh pasta

Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan into a food processor and process for 30 seconds, or until smooth. Keep the motor going, and add olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.






After making the pesto, I baked the salmon (seasoned with a little salt & pepper) for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. About 10 minutes before the salmon was ready to come out, I put a big pot of salted water on to boil. When the salmon came out, the water was boiling and I put the pasta in for 3 minutes. I peeled the skin off the salmon (which is easier after it's cooked than before), then put it in a bowl. I drained the pasta, put it in a large bowl, added the pesto, and tossed it to get the pesto evenly distributed. I broke up the salmon in the separate bowl with my wooden spoon, then added it to the pasta and tossed to combine.

Then we ate it, of course. It ended up being enough for dinner for both of us, plus three lunch sized servings that we boxed up and put in the freezer.