Salmon with Yellow Pepper Cilantro Pesto

Hubby and I love all sorts of seafood. Well everything except squid sushi. Tried it once – gross! Anyways, we always just grab whatever seafood is on sale that week and either use it right away or freeze it for later. Our store has been having salmon on sale a lot recently. We usually just bake it or pan sear it with some spices, but tonight I wanted to dress it up a bit more.

I went to Penzey’s this afternoon since there’s a store in the Boston area and I hadn’t been yet. I ended up with twice as many things as were on my list, but that’s ok. It was a fun shopping trip! One of the things I grabbed was some smoked paprika. You have to try this. It smells amazing. I think it’ll be great in the crockpot pulled pork that we already love. I decided the smoked paprika would be a great way to dress up our salmon and set out to find a recipe.

This recipe is amazing. It combines many of our favorite flavors. I LOVE cilantro, Hubby loves garlic, and we both love our new smoked paprika. Hubby and I agreed this was the best fish I had ever made. You need to try this.

Barbecued Mahi-Mahi with Yellow Pepper-Cilantro Pesto – from Bobby Flay via Ezra Pound Cake
Barbecue Rub
2 tablespoons Spanish paprika – I used smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chile de arbol powder – I used more chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Yellow Pepper-Cilantro Pesto
2 large yellow bell peppers, grilled, peeled, seeded and chopped – we don’t have a grill, so I just cooked them for a few minutes on our griddle
1 clove garlic, chopped – I used 2
2 tablespoons pine nuts – I omitted since we didn’t have any
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves – I used a whole bunch from the store, came out to about 1 1/3 cups
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan – I omitted to make it dairy free
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated pepper

Mahi-Mahi4 Mahi-mahi fillets, 8 ounces each – I used salmon fillet
4 teaspoons olive oil
“Barbecue” Rub
Cilantro leaves

Combine all the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Place peppers, garlic, pine nuts, cilantro and cheese in a food processor and process until combined. With the motor running, add the oil and process until emulsified and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Heat grill to high. Brush each fillet on both sides with oil. Rub 1 side of each fillet with 1 tablespoon of the barbecue rub and place on the grill rub side down and cook until slightly charred and a crust has formed, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and grill for 3 to 4 minutes longer or until cooked to medium doneness. Top each fillet with a few tablespoons of the pesto and garnish with cilantro leaves.