Thursday, February 08, 2007

Easy Luxury Salmon Dinner

I am a fan of Giada De Laurentiis's Easy Italian. Tonight I decided to try her Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree. (Click on the recipe title to get her recipe on Food Network). Picture a golden brown fillet of salmon over a fresh pea puree and surrounded by a lemon infused broth. Sound good? It is, it is disgustingly easy and it looks and tastes really lovely. The whole thing can be made in about half an hour, working slowly. First I made the pea puree, in my whizzy whoo, of course. The fun thing about the puree is that you use frozen peas, defrosted but uncooked. The puree tastes wonderful. I think I might serve it sometime as a dip with bread. I added a bit more garlic than the recipe called for and a touch less olive oil and parmeson to try to cut down on the calories. Still tasted great. I think the quality of the olive oil really makes a difference in the taste here. I am currently using Apollo 2006 Sierra Organic Olive Oil, which tastes lovely.

The broth is a cinch to make, using canned chicken broth. That is one of things I like about Giada's cooking; she doesn't tell you to use homemade chicken broth, which you of course have in your freezer because you religiously cook up vats of it to have on hand. Don't get me wrong, I am sure homemade would taste better, but the reality is that 99% of the time, I don't happen to have any on hand.

Finally, you sear the salmon fillets in olive oil after seasoning with salt and pepper. Assemble the dish, and it just looks fantastic. It tastes fresh but with enough richness to make it satisfying. Make it for you or for your next dinner party. I am sure you will be pleased!

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