Birthday Treat

Monday of this week is my boyfriend's birthday. In light of this event, we decided to do dinner and a movie last night. This is a treat for us as it seems as though we rarely get a chance to do so. I tend to deal for my Dad's company on the weekends or we're too tired from work... or we're just being lazy... That being said, last night I needed to create something that was a little more special than our usual nightly fare. I splurged a bit and bought some beautiful looking skin on salmon fillets. (Again, this is a rarity for us. Fish can get pretty expensive!)

Salmon with Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 6oz skin-on, salmon fillets
• coconut oil, or butter
• 1 large handful of cilantro
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• the juice of 1 lime
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• extra virgin olive oil  

Method:

• Place the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper and olive oil in a food processor or blender. Puree everything until smooth. You can add as much olive oil as you like to get your desired thickness of the sauce. I prefer mine a little thicker, so I went with a couple tablespoons full. Set aside.  
• Heat coconut oil/ butter in a large pan over medium-high heat.
• Pat the two salmon fillets dry and sprinkle with a little salt/pepper.
• Place the fillets skin side down in the pan and let cook for 3 minutes.
• Flip the fillets over and let them cook for an additional 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of your cuts.
• Place them on plates, top with the pesto and serve along with your favorite side.
• Enjoy!

I love this method of cooking fish. It's simple and oh so delicious and did I mention that it only takes about 5 minutes? Easy! I will admit that the pesto is a little heavy with cilantro flavor, but seeing as it's my favorite herb, I don't really mind. Feel free to adjust the sauce as you see fit. It's quite forgiving.