the kentucky kitchen

Meals With my Man: Pesto Salmon + Bell Pepper Salad

It's not that I can't cook, it's several things: the first, is that years and years ago I vowed to meet a man who enjoyed cooking so I didn't need to; and the second is that God handed me just the man I asked for and he cooks a gazillion times better than I ever could. Seriously, his made-up recipes and from scratch ideas end up being WAY better than a single dish I try to re-create from Pinterest.

So in this space you will see some posts like this and I'm calling it Meals With my Man. You're welcome for providing you with such irresistible recipes, but don't just make them, leave a comment and share your experience with us! We would love to hear from you and see how your food turned out.

Today we are sharing a dish that is a spring + summer favorite: Pan Seared Salmon served on a warm Bell Pepper Salad.

Ingredients:
4 Salmon Filets with Skin
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 Bell Peppers (Various colors) Sliced
1 Onion (I like Red for the color) Halved and sliced
4 Tbsp. Pesto
Salt/Pepper

Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. (He uses a iron skillet for this dish, but any skillet will do.)
Once the skillet is hot, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and bring to the smoke point. Meanwhile, liberally season both sides of the filet with salt and pepper.
Place the filets in the skillet, skin side down. Did it sizzle? Good. Depending on the thickness of your Salmon filet, cook for about 4 minutes and flip over to the other side. Cook an additional 4 minutes and then remove to a plate.

Add the remaining olive oil and toss in all the veggies.
Add some salt and pepper.
Toss the veggies and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, or until they are cooked but still crisp. Smooth out the layer of peppers and onions and place the salmon filets back in the skillet on the bed of veggies.
Add 1 tbsp. of pesto to each salmon filet, and about ¼ cup of cold water. Immediately cover with a lid and turn off the burner.
Allow everything to steam for a few minutes, and for that pesto to loosen up and run down the sides and edges of the salmon.
Serve the salmon over a bed of the veggies. 

How BEAUTIFUL is this dish?! Besides being pretty, salmon is jam packed with Vitamins D, B6 and B12 as well as tons of other nutrients. Hey, do you want to see more recipes like these?! I'll be posting here periodically but if you aren't following my husband, The Kentucky Kitchen, on Instagram OR his website, you are missing OUT. 

Have fun cooking and we can't wait to hear how you enjoyed this light and refreshing entrée!