Wild Salmon with Pesto

I always keep wild salmon in my freezer as well as freezing my dairy free basil pesto, so this is an incredibly quick, easy and delicious dinner any night of the week! When I am out of time and need a quick idea, this is my go to. It is sure to please! Of course, if I have the chance to pick up a piece of fresh wild salmon, halibut, trout or sea bass, this is even more delicious!

Photo by Artur Rutkowski on Unsplash

Ingredients:

4 pieces of wild caught salmon (any variety or sub any wild caught fish of your choice)

4 Tbsp. dairy free pesto

Kosher salt & pepper

Avocado oil

Directions:

1. Dry salmon in paper towels so that both the flesh and skin are thoroughly dried.

2. Begin to pre-heat pan to medium high heat.

3. Season flesh side with salt and pepper, flip and season skin lightly with kosher salt. This will help to further dry the skin and ensure crispy skin.

4. Once pan is hot, add a couple Tbsp. avocado oil to the pan, enough to lightly coat it.

5. Immediately lay salmon in pan gently to avoid splattering, skin side DOWN.

6. Cook skin side until you can see that the fish is cooked about 2/3 through, about 3 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish)

7. Gently flip fish over in pan and turn pan down to low. Continue to cook the fish gently for another 1-2 minutes until it reaches 120 degrees.

8. Place one Tbsp. of pesto onto each plate. Remove salmon from pan and plate on top of pesto, skin side up to maintain the crispy skin.