Grilled Salmon with Cashew and Watercress Pesto

I'm totally obsessed by grilled salmon - my mum showed me a new way of cooking it whereby you put it under the grill skin side up and do not touch it until the skin has gone lovely and crisp and the flesh is just cooked through... heavenly!

This is sort of a salad, with spinach and baby tomatoes as the base, but it's much more substantial than that. Two salmon fillets is probably a bit excessive so feel free to drop down to one but there's no carbs involved so you may find you need both. The pesto is a take on the classic with basil, lemon juice, parmesan and olive oil but this time with cashew nuts and watercress instead. Perfect for this time of year, and on the table in less than 15 minutes you have to give this one a go!

Grilled Salmon with Cashew and Watercress Pesto

Serves 2

1 lemon, juice only

200g watercress

2 handfuls of fresh basil

30g parmesan, grated

60g cashew nuts
40ml oil, plus a tsp for grilling

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 x 120g salmon fillets
2 handfuls spinach
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Preheat the grill to high.

Put the lemon juice, watercress, basil, cashews and 40ml of oil in a food processor. Blitz until smooth, adding a little warm water if needed. Season to taste and set aside.

Rub the salmon fillets with the remaining oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place skin side up on a baking tray then cook under the grill for around 8 minutes until the skin is crispy and the flesh cooked through.

Place a handful of spinach on each plate, divide up the cherry tomatoes and then serve the grilled salmon on top and the pesto drizzled over.


TIP: I was lucky enough to receive some rare breed hen's eggs this week so I also served a soft boiled egg on the side - gorgeous!