Baked Salmon with Asian Cilantro Pesto

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. Thank you for allowing me to continue creating great content for you by supporting partnerships with super-fab brands that Food Faith Fitness loves to work with! As always, opinions remain 100% my own.

Baked salmon is topped with a simple Asian cilantro pesto for a quick and easy dinner that is low carb, gluten free and healthy! Perfect for weeknights!

Monday is being brought to you by Coffee (because, MONDAY) aaaand lies.

Because, well, in the words of a famous elf, I sit on a “THRONE OF LIES.”

Except my throne is a bleach-stained leather sofa from a not-so-fun moving fiasco during one of the zillions of moves that me and the hubs have done. So it’s not quite as regal as a throne but..

#reallifeyo.

Anyway.

It was JUUUUUST Friday, with the Beef Stir Fry and honey sriracha miso glazed salmon that I told you that I never eat Bok Choy. Which was, like, only 2 days ago. Which does NATTTT equal “never eating something” when you post 2 recipes with it IN A ROW and only 2 days APART.

Howevz, (how do we feel about such abbreviation? Yay or nay?) I ALSO said that I need to cook it more because YUM and SUPER tasty with its little bit of onion-y flavah and general FRESH and healthy-leafy green Asian veggie goodness.

So, I listened to my brain. WHICH, if you’ve read along for about .004 seconds, is typically not a good idea.

But when veggies and rich, perfectly-pink salmon and roasty toasty almonds that hit your taste buds square in the face with their sriracha-spiced crunchy deliciousness are involved? Well, I make an exception for my brain.

And you should too. For the sake of your inner under-30-minute-dinner-that-feels-like-you-ordered-it-at-one-of-those-fancy-restaruants-where-they-sweep-crumbs-off-your-table-with-a-special-device loving self.

And, yes, those places exist. I have been to one and it’s SO WEIRD.

But, I digress. As per always.

Let’s talk about all things nutty, crunchy and roasted…WITH THE SPICE. But, not the kind of crazy sriracha shenanigans that we discussed with the peanut lentils. The Blue Diamond Sriracha Flavored Almonds have the RIGHT kind of spice that just kind of creeps up the back of your throat until it builds up to the ultimate tongue-tingling experience.

No fire-breathing-drink-the-entire-ocean-mouth-on-fire happenings here guys.

Especially when they dance around a food processor with zesty lime and cilantro, tangy rice vinegar and a POP of needed salty-soy sauce.

The ultimate in flavah balance, all nestled up among healthy freshness for your face, and then spread on flaky, tender, ALL THE HEALTHY FATS salmon, RIGHT HUR.

Omega 3’s my peeps. I can see your skin glowing THROUGH THE SCREEN. I mean, that could just be the reflection.

Buuuut, whatever. You know what I mean. Just go with it.

I’m sensing that now is a good time for you to shut that overly-bright, skin-glowing façade of a screen and put some almonds in a processor.

Now read that last line with a New Zealand accent, like I did in my head.

It’s so much better that way.

Other Posts You Might Like:

Indian Spiced Chicken with Cashew Cilantro Pesto

Recipe

Baked Salmon with Asian Cilantro Pesto

5 from 1 vote

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Serves: 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the salmon:

• 4 Sockeye Salmon Fillets About 4oz each
• Olive oil
• Salt/pepper

For the pesto:

• 1/2 Cup Blue Diamond Sriracha Flavored Almonds 75g
• 3/4 Cup Roughly chopped cilantro tightly packed (25g)
• 1 1/2 Cups Roughly chopped Bok Choy leaves lightly packed (45g)
• 1 tsp Fresh lime zest
• 1 tsp Fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp Fresh garlic minced
• 1 tsp Fresh ginger minced
• 1 1/2 tsps Rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp + 1-2 tsps Reduced-sodium Soy sauce * Coconut aminos for Paleo version
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Chopped green onion for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with tinfoil. Lightly rub the tinfoil with olive oil.
• Pat the salmon fillets dry and place them, skin-side down, onto the baking pan. Drizzle just enough oil to cover the top of each filet and rub it into the salmon with your fingers, or a pastry brush. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake the fish until it flakes easily with a fork, about 13-15 minutes. **
• While the fish cooks, place the almonds in a small food processor(mine is 3 cups) and process until broken down into small pieces.
• Add in the cilantro and Bok Coy and process until broken down and combined with the almonds, scraping down as necessary. Make sure the almonds aren't packing down at the bottom of the processor and not being mixed into the greens.
• Add in the lime zest, lime juice, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, soy sauce and pepper and continue processing until creamy and combined.
• With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil and process until the mixture runs through the processor smoothly, and is creamy.
• Spread the pesto on the salmon and garnish with green onion.
• DEVOUR.

Tips & Notes:

* Both Mr. FFF and I liked the pesto with the full 1 Tbsp + 2 tsps of Soy Sauce, but we tend to like things on the saltier side. I would suggest starting with 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp, and adding the additional tsp at the end, if you think it needs to be saltier.
**A good rule of thumb is 4-6 minutes per 1/2 inch of salmon, depending on how well-done you like it.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.

Author: Taylor

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:American, Asian

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This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. Thank you for allowing me to continue creating great content for you by supporting partnerships with super-fab brands that Food Faith Fitness loves to work with! As always, opinions remain 100% my own.

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