Salmon Pesto Pasta

I stumbled across Bridget's blog, The Way the Cookie Crumbles, when I first started blogging. I saw her post things like Fig-Glazed Burgers and Onion Jam, Tourtely apple tarts, and other recipes that blew my mind.  At this stage, I was totally cooking the same things all the time, and these recipes seemed so too complicated for my cooking ability.

Now here it is, 9 months later, and I just got around to taking a chance and looking at her blog again. I found the Salmon Pesto Pasta, and this seemed like a great breakthrough into making something from her blog.  I think next week I'm going to try making Chicken Broth from scratch using another recipe of hers.

Salmon Pesto Pasta
barely modified from The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Ingredients
8 ounces pasta
2 salmon filets
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
5 ounces evaporated milk
½ cup pesto
grated parmesan, for serving

Directions
1)  Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; stir to separate pasta. Cook pasta until al dente; drain. Pour evaporated milk into empty pot and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup. Add cooked pasta to pot and stir to combine.
2) Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Line a baking sheet or pan with aluminum foil. Season skinless side of salmon liberally with salt and pepper and Italian Seasoning, then rub with olive oil. Broil until salmon is no longer translucent and is firm when pressed, about 10 minutes.
3) Remove from broiler and sprinkle with lemon juice. Use fork to flake into bite-sized pieces. Skin will stick to foil and can be discarded.
4) Add salmon to pasta mixture and stir over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Top with parmesan.

I used two salmon filets instead of measuring it out in ounces.  I also couldn't find basil at my grocery store, so we used the store bought pesto.  Using two salmon filets gave us pretty large salmon to pasta ratio, but my husband liked it.  We both really liked this dish.  I love how you could still taste all the individual ingredients, but they came together in an amazing bite.  It was also a really fast dish, I made it and had it onto the table in under a half an hour.  I'll definitely be perusing Bridget's blog for more awesome finds similar to this one.