Salmon with Pesto & Toum
Just because we are shifting into fall vegetable season doesn’t mean we have to give up on dishes being bright, acidic and vibrant! Here we make a roasted salmon dish with bright and fruitty Aleppo pepper. Served with an arugula pesto, roasted root vegetables and garlic based toum. Bright yet savory, this dish may look like fall, but it won’t taste like it!
Yield: All recipes serve 2 people
Chef Notes: Toum is a delicious emulsified garlic sauce native to the Levant region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Any fish could be used as a substitute here, like steelhead trout or halibut!
Components
Roasted Aleppo Salmon
Arugula Walnut pesto
Roasted Fall Vegetables
Toum
Walnuts and extra Herb
Mise
Roast the Root Vegetables
Cut the carrots, red onion and brussels sprouts into large bit sized pieces.
Season with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until lightly charred and tender.
Make Arugula Pesto
Blanch and shock the arugula.
Toast the walnuts in the oven.
In a blender, combine the cooked arugula, walnuts, ½ C grated parmesan and 2 cloves of garlic. Cover with olive oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the Salmon
Place the salmon on a sheet tray and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Add a sprinkle of aleppo pepper and paprika to the fish. Roast at 450°F until the salmon and is cooked through.
Prepare the Toum
In a blender or food processor, combine the remaining garlic cloves and a large pinch of salt. Blend to a paste.
With the motor running, slowly stream in oil in a thin drizzle until thickened.
Add lemon juice and ice water to loosen and brighten.
Adjust salt and texture as desired. Toum should be light, airy, and potent.
Finish
Plate the vegetables in a pile on the center of a plate. Top with a portion of the roasted Aleppo salmon.
Drizzle with arugula walnut pesto. We
Add dollops of toum to the top of the salmon.
Garnish with extra walnuts or herbs.