Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce & Salmon

In today’s post I’ll show you a super simple & easy recipe for spaghetti with basil pesto & fried salmon.

Especially in hot weather nobody likes to spend hours in the kitchen, so this pasta meal is just right for everyone, who is searching for a light summer dish! I wish you lots of fun cooking 😉




Cooked/Baked today: Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce & Salmon
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Category: Pasta & Noodle Dishes, Light Cuisine, Fast Food, Fish Recipes
Our Recipe rating:

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 400 grams spaghetti
• 4 salmon fillets with skin (175 grams each)
• 200 grams cherry tomatoes
• 1 pot fresh basil
• 100 milliliters olive oil
• 50 grams pine nuts
• 50 grams grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lemon
• A few sprigs of thyme
• 1 tablespoon of butter for the salmon
• Oil for frying
• Salt & pepper

Required kitchen gadgets, helper & preparations:

• Tall container for the pesto sauce
• Grater
• Blender
• Pan for the salmon fillets
• Pot for the pasta
• Colander
• Cup to skim starchy cooking water

Instructions:




…for the pesto sauce:

Gently toast the pine nuts in a pan without adding oil or fat until they are lightly brown & start to smell, then pull from heat. Grate Parmesan cheese with a grater.

Put all the ingredients for the pesto sauce (basil leaves, grated Parmesan, roasted pine nuts & olive oil) in a tall container & use a blender to puree everything until a creamy sauce for about 1 – 2 minutes. Season the pesto sauce with salt, pepper and a dash of lemon juice and set aside.

…for the spaghetti:




Heat up a large pot with salted water, bring to a boil & cook spaghetti for about 6 – 7 minutes or according to package instructions until al dente. Just before the end of the cooking time skim off about 150 milliliters of cooking water, set aside & drain the spaghetti over a colander.

…for the salmon fillet:

While the pasta is cooking, heat up a pan adding a good dash of oil, place the salmon fillets skin side down into the pan & season well with salt & pepper. Roast the salmon for about 3 minutes over medium heat until the skin is golden brown and crispy.




Next, add a squeezed clove of garlic, ½ lemon, a few sprigs of thyme & 1 tablespoon butter to the pan, turn the salmon fillets once and finish frying for another 1 – 2 minutes, while using a tablespoon to pour over several times with the melted butter.

…for the spaghetti with pesto sauce:

Give the drained pasta back to the pot & stir together with halved cherry tomatoes, pesto & skimmed cooking water until everything is well combined. Spread pasta on plates & top with a fried salmon fillet. Garnish everything with basil leaves & lemon slices. I wish you lots of fun cooking 😉

Video Tutorial:

Watch the video tutorial to see the recipe and the preparation method precisely (German Audio only, English Subtitles available):