Salmon with Basil Sauce

I was too lazy to get out the food processor to make pesto.  As a result, this turned into a presentation dish.  You can't really blame me; I was already going to have to wash a hell of a lot of dishes.  The processor was more than I wanted to clean.

This got started a few ways.  Salmon was on sale.  It was time to trim the basil again.  When I finally pulled that last bolted fennel, I had forgotten there would be an edible root attached.  And Vons was rotating their Kosher section, so the large container of Israeli couscous was half off.  So were Shabbos candles, which is ridiculous because a candle takes decades to deteriorate, but I bought some for half off anyway.

There were a few ways I could have assembled the finished product, but I opted for a round version to show you how to make cooked spinach look like more than it is.  A thin ring of it kept the couscous in place, topped with the baked salmon and a bit of fresh basil sauce on top.  It's so unfair how a full pound of spinach leaves cooks down to practically nothing.

Salmon
1 lb salmon fillet, deboned
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 325º.  Lightly drizzle oil in a baking dish.

2.  Rub flesh side of fish in the oil, then flip it up and settle skin-side down in pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put in to bake while you make everything else, about 20 minutes.

3.  Cut into portions, making sure center isn't raw.

Couscous
1 C Israeli couscous (or rice, quinoa, or your favorite grain)
water
salt
olive oil

1.  Lightly salt 1-1/2 C water and bring to a boil.

2.  Stir in dry couscous and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until water is absorbed, about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1 tsp of olive oil, just enough to keep the pearls from sticking together.

Spinach
1 lb spinach, cleaned, stems removed.  Chopping it optional
*2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tb margarine

1.  Melt margarine in 10" skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

2.  Add spinach and stir to coat with margarine.  Allow it to cook about halfway, then remove from heat.  The residual heat in the pan will cook it the rest of the way while you finish the dish.

Sauce
*1/2 C fresh basil leaves
*1/4 C diced onion
2 Tb pine nuts (this is where I subbed in the fennel root)
2 Tb butter or margarine

1.  Melt the butter in a small skillet.  Add onion and cook until soft.  Add in pine nuts until warm.

2.  Remove pan from heat and stir in basil leaves until wilted.  If you want more sauce, add some olive oil.

Assembly
This can be on a platter or individually plated.

1.  Make a ring of spinach slightly inside plate rim.
2.  Fill center with couscous.

3.  Place a salmon portion on top of the couscous.
4.  Spoon sauce on top.

Difficulty rating. :)