Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree

One of my Twitter friends tweeted a picture of their dinner a few weeks ago and it was beautiful! I asked about the recipe, and she happily sent it over for me.

I knew I had salmon fillets in the freezer, so on a whim I decided to make this semi-ambitious dinner on a weeknight. It came together easier than I expected, and really packs a lot of great flavors and plates nicely.

Johnny was really impressed when he came downstairs to see what was going on. Then when he started eating he could not stop complimenting the dish. Every bite he took meant new praises were on their way. He even dared to say it made it to the Top 10 best dishes I've cooked, maybe even the Top 5. That is saying a lot from a self-proclaimed seafood hater.

I followed this recipe pretty closely, which I'll list below with my small edits.

Bordetto:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, diced (I used a small onion)
2 lemons, juiced
1 lemon, zested
2 cups broth (I used vegetable)

Pea Puree:
2 cups frozen peas
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Salmon:
4 fillets
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

For the bordetto, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the shallot (onion), sauteeing until tender and fragrant. Add the lemon juice, zest, and broth. Simmer uncovered to let the sauce reduce some.

Thaw and heat the peas. Reserve a few tablespoons for garnish. Puree the remainder of the peas and ingredients in a food processor or using a stick blender. (Note: I then chose to keep this warm in a small skillet, which helped reduce the raw garlic flavor which I thought was a bit strong for our tastes.)

Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Grease a pan with olive oil and cook until the salmon is done, about 3 minutes per side. (I used the Griddler, eliminating flipping and making grill marks.)


To plate, spoon the lemon bordetto on the bottom of a plate. Place a salmon fillet in the middle. Scoop a healthy dollup of pea puree on the salmon. Garnish the plate with a few whole peas.

Top Chef fans will be happy to know that I made my own pea puree, I did not steal it!