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RECIPE OF THE WEEK; Food Salmon with new potatoes and beetroot pesto

0 Comments | Journal (Newcastle, England), The, July 11, 2008

THIS week's recipe uses a beetroot pesto as its sauce. We recently received a complaint on a comment card saying that we obviously didn't know what pesto was as it contains basil, and I guess we were guilty of confusing things. But if I wanted to be pedantic, the word pesto derives, I understand, from the Latin pestle meaning to damage or crush, hence the tool used to crush herbs and spices in a mortar.

Generally considered to have originally come from Genoa, northern Italy, Pesto alla Genovese is a thick sauce comprising basil, salt and garlic, crushed together in a mortar and pestle before the addition of crushed pine nuts, Italian hard cheese (such as Parmesan) and olive oil. Here, we've replaced the basil with beetroot to give it an unusual twist.

Two whole beetroots, washed and boiled until tender then peeled

Two cloves garlic, peeled

50g grated Parmesan cheese

50g toasted pine nuts

Extra virgin olive oil

Four salmon fillets - about 200g to 250g each, skin on

A couple of handfuls of wild rocket

Three red onions, peeled and cut into wedges

Red wine vinegar

300g Jersey new potatoes, boiled and halved

Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 200degC, gas mark 6.

First make the pesto by blending together the peeled beetroot, garlic, Parmesan and pine nuts. Add enough olive oil to make a loose paste and season to taste with salt and pepper.

You could use the traditional mortar and pestle which will give a slightly more rustic sauce.

Heat an oven-proof frying pan, add a little olive oil and fry the salmon fillets, skin side down, for a few minutes until the skin begins to crisp. Turn the fillets over, add a little salt and pepper and place in the oven for a further five or six minutes.

Meanwhile, drop the onion wedges into a pan of boiling water for 45 seconds.

Remove and drain then add them to the potatoes and rocket in a mixing bowl. Add a slug of olive oil, a little salt and pepper and a dash of red wine vinegar.

Mix and taste, adjusting the salt, pepper and vinegar if necessary.

To serve, pile the onion and potato mixture on to serving plates, place the salmon on top and add a dollop of beetroot pesto.

Oldfields Restaurants cookbook, Passion for Real Food, is out now and available in good bookshops

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