For the past year, I’ve made a point of adding wild salmon to our dinner table at least once a week. Not only is it one of my favorite types of fish to cook, but it’s also packed with nutrition—protein, heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, essential amino acids, and a whole lineup of vitamins and minerals including A, B6, E, D, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus. Delicious and nourishing? That’s an easy win for me.

Since wild salmon can be expensive, we buy a huge big fillet at our local discount grocery store, then cut it into individual 6 to 7 ounce fillets we freeze. When properly cooked, salmon is mild tasting, moist and flaky in texture. It is in fact better to have salmon a little underdone rather than fully cooked to ensure it remains moist.

One of my favorite methods for cooking fish fillets is to lightly bread them, sear them on one side in a frying pan, then finish cooking them in a very hot oven. The light breading adds a crispy golden crust that helps to keep the fish very moist inside. If your salmon fillets have the skin on them, it is easiest to cook them that way as the skin will simply peel off after they are cooked.

I like to prepare a number of different toppings for my salmon, including tropical fruit salsas, light citrus sauces, or as shown in this recipe with a chunky pesto spread and served with a scoop of sweet dressed cherry tomatoes. In place of the salmon, this topping also works well on swordfish, halibut or grouper fillets.

You could even serve this topping on breaded chicken cutlets instead of fish if you preferred. You will have extra pesto sauce leftover that you can use in the future. I make this pesto in my mini Cuisinart food processor/chopper as it keeps the pesto slightly chunky which works well as a spread.

One of the best parts of making pesto is that there’s always a little extra. I prepare mine in a small food processor so it stays slightly chunky, which makes it a great spread. Any leftover pesto goes beautifully on pasta, sandwiches, or even tossed with roasted vegetables later in the week.

Buying Smart & Stretching a Fillet

Let’s be honest—wild salmon can be expensive. My solution is to buy one huge fillet at our local discount grocery store, then portion it into individual 6- to 7-ounce servings. I wrap and freeze them, so I always have salmon ready for a quick weeknight dinner.

When it comes to cooking, salmon is best served just a touch underdone rather than fully cooked. That’s the secret to keeping it moist, flaky, and mild in flavor. By buying smart, cooking simply, and adding a variety of toppings, wild salmon has become an affordable and exciting staple in our kitchen. It’s healthy, versatile, and never boring—a true centerpiece of our weekly meals.

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Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele