Sockeye Salmon Over Mushrooms, Roasted Peppers And Pesto Cream Gnocchi

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.

Sockeye Salmon Over Mushrooms, Roasted Peppers And Pesto Cream Gnocchi

• Author: Tonja Engen

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Ingredients

• 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
• 1/4 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
• 1/4 cup prepared pesto (trader Joes, or Costco)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 4 Tbls. balsamic glaze

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Instructions

1. 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.
2. Bake salmon for 20-25 minutes until salmon flakes with a fork. Remove from oven and cover with tinfoil.
3. 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).
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Serve immediately.

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