Salmon Orecchiette with Brussels Sprouts and Taleggio
A delicious one one-pot pasta meets one-pan salmon dinner. The roasted citrus, brussels sprouts and garlic deliver bright and caramelized notes to complement the rich salmon and tangy taleggio cheese. Ready in time for any weeknight dinner, this recipe delivers phenomenal flavor.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound Brussels Sprouts
- 6 cloves Garlic , unpeeled
- ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil , divided
- ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon Table Salt , divided
- 1 Lemon
- ½ pound Salmon Fillet , skin on
- 1 pound Orecchiette Pasta
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme Leaves
- 6 ounces Taleggio , cut into 1 inch pieces
- Coarsely Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Set an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375 °F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Slice off any discolored or woody portions from brussels sprout stems, making sure to leave enough of the stem intact to hold the leaves together; cut brussels sprouts in half. In a large bowl, mix brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and pinch black pepper until evenly coated. Spread brussels sprouts on sheet pan, reserving bowl for later use. Cut lemon in half and place both halves cut–face up in adjacent corners of sheet pan. When oven is preheated, place sheet pan on rack and set timer for 15 minutes.
- Place garlic in reserved mixing bowl and toss to coat lightly with excess olive oil. When timer rings, remove brussels sprouts from oven; scatter garlic over brussels sprouts; return sheet pan to oven for another 15 minutes.
- Pat salmon fillets dry with paper towel; rub flesh sides evenly with 1 teaspoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and pinch black pepper. When brussels sprouts have been in the oven for a total of 30 minutes, being careful of hot surfaces, remove sheet pan from oven. Shift brussels sprouts towards side of sheet pan with lemon halves to make room for salmon. Place salmon on sheet pan skin–side down; return sheet pan to oven; roast until salmon is opaque pink through thickest part of the fillet and flakes apart easily with a fork, 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and ¼ cup salt; bring to a boil over high heat. Add pasta to boiling water; cook, stirring occasionally to avoid clumping, until al dente, about 10 minutes or according to product’s suggested time. Pasta should be firm to the bite, but with no pale or starchy center. Drain pasta, reserving pot for later use; rinse lightly to stop cooking; transfer pasta to reserved mixing bowl. Toss pasta with 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
- Transfer salmon, garlic, and lemon to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, peel garlic; remove skin from salmon and shred salmon into 2-3 inch pieces. In reserved pasta pot, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic; with edge of spatula mix and mash garlic until mostly smooth and sizzling, about 1 minute. If garlic begins to burn or stick to bottom of pot, reduce heat to medium–low. In fine mesh strainer held over the garlic mixture, squeeze lemon halves; press juice and pulp through strainer with back of spoon. Add honey, thyme leaves and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium–low; add pasta and brussels sprouts; gently stir to coat with garlic mixture. Adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper to taste. Remove pasta from heat; gently fold in salmon and taleggio; serve.
Notes
- If you prefer a low–carb or gluten–free meal, you can easily omit the pasta or substitute your grain of choice. Simply follow the sheet pan portion of the recipe, and use the garlic–lemon–honey–thyme mixture to coat just the brussels sprouts.
- For a vegetarian version, substitute the salmon with one well-drained can of chickpeas.
- If you have trouble finding taleggio or if it’s not for you, then feta, brie or goat cheese will all make great substitutes.
- The 10-15 minute suggested cook time for the salmon fillet will work for most fillet sizes. However, if you have a particularly thick (more than 2 inches), or thin (less than ½ inch) fillet, you may need more or less time accordingly.
- Vermentino: for its medium body, complementary citrus and herb flavors
- California Chardonnay: for its rich body, ripe fruit flavors
- Schiava: for its light body, high acidity, aromatic candied red fruit
- Pinot Noir: for its red fruit and spice flavors, soft tannins