This pesto recipe is great with our featured fish this week, but it also works nicely on salmon or halibut. Serve it with a side of sliced fresh tomatoes with a sprinkle of sea salt and a crisp white wine for the perfect hot summer meal. And for an even quicker and easier meal, grab a container of already prepared pesto from the fresh section at your local grocer - I won't tell.
Basil Pesto
The standard recipe calls for pine nuts but we sometimes use macadamia nuts and they work equally well, if not better! I've heard rumors about success with walnuts but I'm not a fan.
2 cups basil leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
½ cup parmesan cheese
In a food processor, pulse the basil, pine nuts and garlic a few times until they're mostly chopped up and combined. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in while pulsing off and on (you can just turn it 'on' if you like too, or test out your coordination skills by pulsing and pouring at the same time) and then add the cheese and pulse a few more times to combine - you're done!
Pesto Crusted Ono
1 cup basil pesto (give or take)
6-8 oz fresh ono filet per adult serving - cut in 1" thick steaks
Salt and pepper to taste
Place your fish filets on a plate or in a dish, sprinkle with salt and smear them all over with the pesto. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and let them sit for about an hour. Heat a grill or frying pan fairly hot (medium high) and tip the fish into the pan, pesto and all. This will be a little messy, as pesto sort of goes everywhere, but try to keep
as much of it as you can on the fish. We usually go a good quarter inch thick with pesto on each side. The oil in the pesto will keep the fish from sticking to the pan and most of it will stay on if you don't fuss with it too much. Cook for about 3 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for an additional three minutes. Take it off the heat and let it rest for a minute, then serve on a bed of rice or pasta or with fresh sliced tomatoes. Enjoy!
