We had our fun foodie friends over Saturday night for dinner. They are adventurous eaters and will try just about anything. I had a beautiful Sockeye Salmon filet–direct from Alaska, and wanted to give our friends something special. Mission accompished. Your guests will love this and you will too because with a little prep work most of this can be done ahead. And that equals fun and a relaxing dinner for all.
I have made homemade gnocchi in the past, but without an Italian grandma to show me the magic, I’m just never that satisfied with my own. I found that buying it can be just as good. Here’s the trick—after you cook the gnocchi (Trader Joes or a higher end grocery has really good stuff), let it cool for a bit and then put a little butter in a pan on high and sear the gnocchi until it gets a little golden brown.
I also found this crazy good balsamic glaze at Trader Joe’s that you can drizzle over the plate at the end, top with pine nuts and it looks like you’ve plated a restaurant quality meal–tastes even better.
- 1- 24-28 oz. Sockeye Salmon Filet
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 4 Tbls. Olive oil
- 1-8 oz. package of mushrooms, sliced
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
- 2 red peppers, seeded and sliced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 12 oz. potato gnocchi, cooked according to package instructions
- ¼ cup prepared pesto (trader Joes, or Costco)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- 4 Tbls. balsamic glaze
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and place Salmon filet skin side down. Season with salt and pepper and 1-2 Tbls. of olive oil.
- Bake salmon for 20-25 minutes until salmon flakes with a fork. Remove from oven and cover with tinfoil.
- While salmon is cooking, heat a large saute' pan over medium heat. Add 2 Tbls. olive oil. Add garlic and shallots and saute' 3-4 minutes. Turn heat to medium-high and add mushrooms and peppers. Saute' 8-10 minutes. Next, add the sun dried tomatoes, cream, pesto and Parmesan cheese. Turn down heat to medium and cook for 5-10 minutes until flavors blend. Season with salt and pepper. (This can be done ahead and let simmer on low until you are ready to add gnocchi).
- In a separate pan, add 2 Tbls. butter over high heat. Add cooled gnocchi and sear until sides start turning golden brown. Add gnocchi to the cream sauce and stir to incorporate.
- Slice salmon into four pieces. Place 2 large spoonfuls of gnocchi mixture on 4 plates. Lay a piece of salmon on top (skin removed) and drizzle with pine nuts and balsamic glaze.
- Serve immediately.
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