I stole Ed's Pea Puree

Disclaimer: if you're not sure what I'm referencing, rest assured it is both timely and hilarious

So it was just by accident that I made a dish with salmon and pea puree the night after the now infamous episode of Top Chef aired, with Alex's winning dish of similar fare. Lately when we've made salmon it has been roasted like I prepared in the earlier blog, with onions and grape tomatoes. Not being one to do the same thing over and over, it was time to find a new preparation, and so I flagged a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis.

I feel like purees are showing up in so many places now as the foundation of many savory dishes, and while I love peas, we don't eat them much. I figured this (if successful) would be a way to reintroduce the lovely little veggies into our rotation.

What I did not plan for, though, is my husband. Apparently it is 100% fantastic for chefs and TV personalities to prepare pea purees but it is an entirely different monster when I finish climbing into my tallest cabinet to abstract the food processor. I looked up from the counter to see a look of horror on his face. Surely I, his wife, wasn't going to attempt what I had seen others do?

The puree was actually incredibly simple to create (leading me to believe I somehow did it wrong since the accusations flying on TC were that Alex didn't have time to make his!?) and guess what - it was delicious!!!

Seared Salmon with Pea Puree, Whole Wheat Rotini, Roasted Tomatoes and Lemon Brodetto (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Roasted Tomatoes:
1 cup grape, cherry or yellow pear tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Pasta:
1/2 lb whole wheat rotini

Pea Puree:
2 cups thawed frozen peas
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp torn mint leaves
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup shaved parmesan (grated or shredded is fine too!)

Lemon Brodetto:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 diced shallot
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, julienned

Salmon:
2 5-6 oz fillets of salmon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, cracked
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Take a deep breath. I realize that looks like a lot of ingredients. It will all be ok! The beauty of this dish is that you can focus on one thing at a time and none of the individual components is remotely difficult.

Start with the tomatoes - spread them on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper, throw on the thyme sprigs and send them into a 325 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.


Now is also a good time to start the water for the pasta. Then turn your attention to the pea puree. Add the peas (thawed but un-cooked) to the food processor...


Along with the mint and garlic.


Sprinkle on about a half teaspoon each of salt and pepper, then put the lid on, set the food processor on puree and stream in the olive oil while you're pureeing. Once it is finished doing its thing, transfer it into a bowl and stir in the parmesan. Now this can hang out while you finish the rest of the meal.



In a small sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and throw in the shallots. Allow these to cook for 5-7 minutes to soften.


Then add the lemon zest, juice, and chicken broth. Cover and simmer until the salmon is finished cooking.


Sprinkle the salmon fillets with salt and pepper while heating a non-stick skillet with olive oil. Throw in a clove of cracked garlic to flavor the oil and then place the salmon fillets skin side up in the pan. Leave them to get a great sear and golden crust (approximately 4 or 5 minutes) before you even think about flipping them. I'm serious. Then, depending on your desired done-ness (as well as the thickness of the fish), cook for another 2-5 minutes on the other side.


By now your lovely tomatoes should be ready to emerge from the oven.


To assemble this dish, I put a few ladles of the lemon brodetto down first. Then, I placed a large spoonful of the pea puree in the center. I place the pasta and tomatoes off to the side (still in the sauce) and the salmon fillet on top of it all.


I was somewhat concerned as the pea puree is never heated, but I was beyond pleasantly suprised at how well the heat of the fish and lovely sauce combined with the puree to create something magical in my mouth! And in my mind, I just edged out Alex for the win...