As my husband was eating this meal, he channeled his inner Top Chef Judge. He said, “this is very well-balanced with it’s flavors…a little spicy, but balanced with the coolness of the tomatoes and the calmness of the pesto…but it still tastes smoky”. I thought, “Yes!”…that’s what I was trying to accomplish!
4, 5 oz salmon fillets
Pesto:
1, 4 oz can fire roasted green chilies
1T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup arugula
1/8 cup walnuts
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp hot sauce or chili paste (I used Sriracha)
Flavored Oil:
2T extra virgin olive oil
1T smoked paprika
Garnish:
2-3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
paprika, for sprinkling
Mix the oil and paprika. Set aside.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and place salmon fillets. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Cook to desired doneness…I cook mine about 15 minutes.
While the salmon is cooking, blend the pesto ingredients in a food processor.
Plating: Take a oversized tablespoon of the pesto and plop on the plate. Take the back of a soup spoon and slide it across the plate to disperse the pesto. Place the salmon in the middle of the plate. With a dropper (can be purchased cheaply at your local drugstore), drop paprika oil around the plate as you see fit. Decorate with a few arugula leaves. Sprinkle with smoked paprika.
Enjoy!
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