Salmon with walnut-basil butter

In the interest of healthiness (getting all those good omega-3 fatty acids and all that), David and I have taken a particular interest in incorporating more seafood in our diet. Living in Chicago unfortunately does not guarantee us easy or inexpensive access to fresh fish, but Costco’s frozen food section will do the trick for us. Frozen salmon fillets are delightfully easy to prepare and make for great weeknight meals. Flavoured butter is a great addition to salmon and can be made in large enough batches to use again or for other meals.

Recipe

from The Bon Appétit Cookbook: Fast Easy FreshServes 22 6 oz. salmon fillets1 garlic clove, peeled2 tbsp walnuts5 large fresh basil leaves plus additional leaves for garnish1/4 cup butter, room temperature1/2 tsp fresh lime juice1/4 cup dry white wineFinely chop walnuts, basil leaves and garlic in processor. Add butter and lime juice and process until well-blended. Season to tastew with salt and pepper. Transfer walnut butter to small bowl. Cover and chill until cold.Preheat oven to 400 F and butter baking dish. Place salmon fillets in dish in single layer and pour wine over. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Bake salmon until almost opaque on top, about 8 minutes. Place 2 tbsp walnut butter atop each salmon piece. Continue baking until salmon fillets are just opaque in center, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer salmon to plates and garnish with basil leaves.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: the original recipe actually called for pistachios; although, it did note that walnuts or pine nuts could be used in place of them.Flavoured butter is something we’ve discovered recently, and it really adds wonderful flavour to this salmon dish. It was nutty yet fresh-tasting and didn’t overpower the salmon. A lovely, simple dish that is well-worth having again.