Bon Appetit Pan-Seared Salmon with Pumpkin Seed-Cilantro Pesto

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest I loved fish and ate it frequently. My family never had a lot of money, but luckily we lived in an area where fish was fresh, readily available and much less expensive than other places. One of my favorite types of fish was and still is Salmon. Smoked and fresh salmon are some of my favorite foods, I love them in just about everything. From the time that my two boys turned two they have been eating fish and love it as much, if not more than I do. As I was looking through the November issue of Bon Appetit magazine I came across a recipe for Pan-Seared Salmon with Pumpkin Seed-Cilantro Pesto, which looked delicious and a great way to showcase salmon.

This recipe has 9 ingredients and prepares 4 servings. The total time is approximately 25 minutes, with the full time being active. The ingredients are all basic and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. I was excited to see that my closest grocery store now carries pumpkin seeds in the produce nut section, which will save me from making multiple trips in the future. I was unable to find cracked coriander seeds, so I reduced the amount needed and substituted ground coriander seed instead. The salmon that I found at my local grocery store was a thinner fillet and took less time to cook than the suggested 3-4 minutes per side. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

A very simple and easy to execute salmon recipe. I love that the pesto is not traditional and uses toasted pumpkin seeds. The taste of the roasted pumpkin seeds is delicious and gives the pesto a nutty undertone. The following day after serving this recipe I used the leftover pesto to serve over rigatoni. The pesto re-heated well and my husband liked it even better as a pasta sauce. A versatile and easy salmon recipe.

For the recipe go to Pan-Seared Salmon with Pumpkin Seed-Cilantro Pesto.