Salmon Bruschetta
Salmon Bruschetta
Prep 10 mins Cook 25 mins Eat 25 mins
I was inspired to create this recipe for Salmon Bruschetta from a dish I first tasted at the Olive Garden restaurant seven years ago. Food memories are a powerful thing. I wrote about this Salmon Bruschetta I tasted in 2014 and my post has received a lot of interest from readers. I’ve been wanting to add a recipe for this delicious dish for a long time. So here it is.
The original dish had crabmeat in the risotto, making it even more decadent, but I thought it was just perfect without it. I made the Salmon Bruschetta for our Valentine dinner, but it’s perfect whenever you are ready for an elgant dinner. While it looks fancy, it is easy to pull off in 25 minutes. You just need a bit of patience to prepare all the elements before assembling. Follow my step-by-step directions to learn to make risotto and pesto along with how to plate the Salmon Bruschetta just like a restaurant.
Get your “Mise en Place” before you begin.
Set up your ingredients (mise en place) for the Salmon Bruschetta.
You don’t need a ton of ingredients to make the Salmon Bruschetta, but a couple special ingredients are key. You will need fresh basil and parsley for the pesto. Trader Joe’s sells basil plants that allows you to clip off fresh basil even in the winter. Fresh parsley is added to keep the pesto nice and green. I used Calrose rice instead of Italian arborio for the risotto. It’s less expensive than short grain rice like arborio and you can find it in the Asian section of most supermarkets. This is a trick I learned from a favorite Italian restaurant.
The salmon filets are drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Have the salmon filets ready by preheating a grill. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper on all sides. I bought this salmon at the 99 Ranch Market, a favorite Asian supermarket and froze it when I got home. After defrosting, it was still deliciously fresh tasting.
Mix 1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon in hot water to make chicken stock.
Have at the ready some hot chicken stock. If I don’t have homemade stock available, I like to use Better than Bouillon. It’s a paste that you mix into hot water. 1 teaspoon to 1 cup water. You’ll need about 2 cups or more, but it’s better to mix as needed so it stays hot.
Prepare the Risotto.
The rice is coated with olive oil after cooking the diced onion. Chicken stock is added in half cup increments.
First get the risotto going by cooking the diced onion and olive oil in a skillet for a few minutes until translucent and maybe slightly browned. 1) Add the rice and more olive oil if needed. Stir the rice to coat it with olive oil and let it cook a minute. Then add the white wine and let it cook a minute. 2) Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Stir, cook uncovered until the liquid is soaked into the rice. 3) Watch the rice and continue to add more chicken stock to keep it wet. After about 17 minutes, the risotto will be al dente. Taste it to test for doneness, then REMOVE FROM HEAT. 4) Just before serving, add 1/2 cup more of the chicken stock and stir to make it juicy.
MAKE THE PESTO.
Use fresh garlic, basil and parsley, pine nuts, olive oil and grated parmesan cheese to make the pesto
While the risotto is cooking, make the pesto in a food processor. It takes only a couple minutes. First, process garlic clove. 1)Then add the basil, parsley, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper 2)Process until mixed. 3)Scrape down the mixture, process again until minced. Add the parmesan cheese. 4)Process until mixed together into a beautiful pesto.
Grape tomatoes are diced small.
Quickly dice the tomatoes and sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt to draw out the flavor. I used about 6 of these lovely grape tomatoes I purchased at Costco that were sweet in the middle of winter, but you could use a whole plum tomato too. Notice that the tomatoes are firm and not too “juicy”, so they stand up on the salmon.
The salmon was cooked on a grill with a copper mat.
After cooking the risotto for about 12 minutes, place the salmon on the grill. I purchased this copper mat for my grill, which is a game changer for cooking fish. Heat the grill with the mat on it. Brush it with some oil and place the fish on it. Cover the grill. The salmon I used had skin on it and it cooked the salmon skin crispy perfect in about 6-8 minutes. No sticking. No flipping. Take the salmon off the grill when you press into the fish and it gives slightly. Set it aside to let it rest, as you will have “carryover cooking”. After removing the salmon from the grill, reheat the risotto, adding the last 1/2 cup of chicken stock.
Heat the Plates in a Low Heat Oven, if you like.
Serve with simply steamed vegetables on the side.
Salmon Bruschetta is ready for dinner.
While your salmon is resting, prepare your plates. If you’ve heated the plates like fine dining restaurants do, you will keep everything hot. Have a side dish of vegetables ready, if you like. I served our Salmon Bruschetta with some simply steamed green beans. Spoon some of the risotto onto the plate. Top with the salmon filet, then the tomatoes and the pesto and a basil leaf garnish. So beautiful! The Olive Garden restaurant inspired this work of art popping with delicious flavor, just as I had remembered it!
Salmon Bruschetta
This Salmon Bruschetta was inspired by a dish I tasted at the Olive Garden restaurant seven years ago. If I don’t have homemade stock available for the risotto, I like to use Better than Boullion. It’s a paste that you mix into hot water…1 teaspoon to 1 cup water. I purchased a copper mat for my grill, which is a game changer for cooking fish. Heat the grill with the mat on it. Brush it with some oil and place the fish on it. No sticking. No flipping. The salmon I used had skin on it and it cooked the salmon skin crispy perfect. Serve the Salmon Bruschetta with a simply steamed vegetable like green beans, if you like.
2 salmon filets (6-8 ounces each)
1/2 cup tomato, diced
Risotto
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup short grain rice, like Arborio or Calrose
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups + chicken stock
Pesto
1 clove garlic
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup fresh parsley
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
2 Tablespoons + or – olive oil
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
1. Have the salmon filets ready by preheating a grill. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper on all sides
2. Have at the ready some hot chicken stock.
3. First get the risotto going by cooking the diced onion and olive oil in a skillet for a few minutes until translucent and maybe slightly browned. 1) Add the rice and more olive oil if needed. Stir the rice to coat it with olive oil and let it cook a minute. Then add the white wine and let it cook for a minute. 2) Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Stir, cook uncovered until the liquid is soaked into the rice. 3) Watch the rice and continue to add more chicken stock to keep it wet. After about 17 minutes, the risotto will be al dente.Taste it for doneness, then REMOVE FROM HEAT. 4) Just before serving, add 1/2 cup more of the chicken stock and stir to make it juicy.
4. While the risotto is cooking, make the pesto in a food processor. It takes only a couple minutes. First, process garlic clove. 1)Then add the basil, parsley, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper 2)Process until mixed. 3)Scrape down the mixture, process again until minced. Add the parmesan cheese. 4)Process until mixed together into a beautiful pesto.
5. Quickly dice the tomatoes and sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt to draw out the flavor.
6. After cooking the risotto for about 12 minutes, place the salmon on the grill. Cover the grill. Take the salmon off the grill when you press into the fish and it gives slightly, about 6-8 minutes. Set it aside to let it rest, as you will have “carryover cooking”. After cooking the salmon, reheat the risotto, adding the last 1/2 cup of chicken stock.
7. While your salmon is resting, prepare your plates. Spoon some of the risotto onto the center of the plate. Top with the salmon filet, then the tomatoes and the pesto and a basil leaf garnish.
Servings: 2 – 1575 calories per serving
Salmon Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 2 salmon filets 6-8 ounces each
- 1/2 cup tomato diced
Risotto
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup short grain rice like Arborio or Calrose
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups + chicken stock
Pesto
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup fresh parsley
- 2 Tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 Tablespoons + or - olive oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Have the salmon filets ready by preheating a grill. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper on all sides
- Have at the ready some hot chicken stock.
- First get the risotto going by cooking the diced onion and olive oil in a skillet for a few minutes until translucent and maybe slightly browned. 1) Add the rice and more olive oil if needed. Stir the rice to coat it with olive oil and let it cook a minute. Then add the white wine and let it cook for a minute. 2) Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Stir, cook uncovered until the liquid is soaked into the rice. 3) Watch the rice and continue to add more chicken stock to keep it wet. After about 17 minutes, the risotto will be al dente.Taste it for doneness, then REMOVE FROM HEAT. 4) Just before serving, add 1/2 cup more of the chicken stock and stir to make it juicy.
- While the risotto is cooking, make the pesto in a food processor. It takes only a couple minutes. First, process garlic clove. 1)Then add the basil, parsley, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper 2)Process until mixed. 3)Scrape down the mixture, process again until minced. Add the parmesan cheese. 4)Process until mixed together into a beautiful pesto.
- Quickly dice the tomatoes and sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt to draw out the flavor.
- After cooking the risotto for about 12 minutes, place the salmon on the grill. Cover the grill. Take the salmon off the grill when you press into the fish and it gives slightly, about 6-8 minutes. Set it aside to let it rest, as you will have "carryover cooking". After cooking the salmon, reheat the risotto, adding the last 1/2 cup of chicken stock.
- While your salmon is resting, prepare your plates. Spoon some of the risotto onto the center of the plate. Top with the salmon filet, then the tomatoes and the pesto and a basil leaf garnish.
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
Nutrition
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The perfect meal! Looks so delicious.