Basil and Dill Pesto Crusted Baked Salmon is a healthy and delicious dinner recipe, suitable for a special occasion but easy enough for any busy weeknight or a Sunday supper! #GloriaFerrer #CLVR #ad
You never know when a spontaneous celebration and a congratulatory toast might be needed! Such was the case this past weekend 🙂 I had invited my sister and her adorable twin almost 8 month old twin boys over to spend Sunday afternoon with us and then have dinner too! As always, Sunday supper was at my parent’s house and I had planned on cooking salmon. We all love salmon and it is soooo good for us too 🙂 Mom had a basil plant that desperately needed harvesting, so I was thinking a pesto…
We had a lovely afternoon of the babies all playing 🙂 Baby girl is so fascinated by the boys now and you can just tell that she can’t wait to be big enough to really play with them and do everything that they can do!! Right before I was going to start preparing dinner, my sister got a phone call from her husband with some great news!! It was unexpected and exciting and I knew right then that it was time to celebrate!
I quickly grabbed this Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine that I happened to have chilling in the refrigerator!
And this Brut Rosé too!! These sparkling wines come from the Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards which is Carneros’ original sparkling wine house. It is owned and founded by the Ferrer family of Spain. Named for José Ferrer’s wife, Gloria, the winery opened in 1986 in the breezy, now-famous region in southernmost Sonoma County.
Gloria Ferrer is not only the first sparkling wine house in Sonoma Carneros, but also the first to bring back clones from France to plant their vineyard. I thought the Blanc de Blancs, which is made exclusively from hand-harvested chardonnay grapes and is creamy, clean and refreshing would pair beautifully with salmon! Mom and Amy are chardonnay fans, so I knew they would enjoy the Blanc de Blanc for our celebratory toast!
We raised a glass to Amy’s good news! The Blanc de Blancs did not disappoint, it was delicious! I can certainly see why Gloria Ferrer wines have earned over 500 gold medals and 50 90+ scores in the last 5 years!! You are going to want to check out all of their offerings and learn more about the vineyard and their winemaking process by visiting their website 🙂
Ok, time for some food 🙂 This Basil and Dill Pesto Crusted Baked Salmon recipe was inspired by my Easiest Baked Salmon with Fresh Herbs, which is a family favorite! I decided to take it to the next level and really elevate this dish by creating a pesto with both basil and dill AND adding a parmesan and whole wheat bread crumb topping! YUM!!
The result was “The best salmon recipe that you have ever made!” That is an actual quote from my dad 😉 This is coming from a guy that thought he hated salmon until a couple of years ago when I finally got him to try my salmon! So that compliment really made me smile 🙂
Here is your recipe for Basil and Dill Pesto Crusted Baked Salmon:
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- ⅓ cup fresh dill
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup pecans (or other nut of choice)
- zest and juice of one lemon
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (a bit more or less may be needed)
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- ½ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 lbs. salmon
- Basil and Dill Pesto (from above)
- Places the cloves of garlic in an empty food processor bowl. Process garlic by itself to finely chop. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add basil, dill, parmesan, pecans, lemon zest and lemon juice to the food processor and turn on.
- While the food processor is on, stream in the olive oil to create a smooth, spreadable paste.
- Set aside
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs and parmesan. Set aside.
- Place salmon (either leave whole or cut into serving side pieces) in a large casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Spread pesto on the salmon, reserving about ⅓ of it for serving.
- Add breadcrumb/parmesan mixture over top of the pesto on the salmon.
- Place salmon in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through and breadcrumbs are golden brown. The salmon should be just opaque all the way through, flaky and still moist.
- Serve over brown rice or quinoa and top with reserved pesto.
We ended up enjoying both the Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blanc & Brut Rosé with my Basil and Dill Pesto Crusted Baked Salmon! The Brut Rosé, which is a combination of hand-harvested pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, paired nicely with the salmon as well! It is an exceptionally versatile wine and will pair with most cuisines.
So tell me…when was the last time you had a spontaneous celebration? How did you celebrate?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of  CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.