Not that somebody probably hasn’t already written up a full recipe for this somewhere, but i didn’t find it and just made this up myself.
1. Go out and buy yourself a fillet of hideously expensive wild salmon. You deserve it.
2. Race home, throw it out on the counter, and then stall for a few minutes making a side dish or something to let the fish get closer to room temperature.
3. Select the appropriate baking dish and put a film of good oil in it. Olive would probably be the best, but i’m trying to use up this bottle of avocado oil before my move and went with that.
4. Lay the salmon into the dish skin side down.
5. Squeeze a lime over the top, and lightly salt and pepper it. I was fortunate enough to have some Rangpur limes from JoAnn’s bush. When you don’t have Rangpur limes, regular old grocery store limes work just fine. As do lemons.
6. Spread it generously with pesto.
7. Stick it in the oven and turn the oven on to 350 F. When the oven reaches 350, turn it off and wait a few minutes. For a fair chunk of salmon, five minutes should be plenty, but a little thin one might be overcooked in five. Keep using the old finger test to see whether it’s firmed up, and snatch it out as soon as it passes.
We want to eat it when it is only just beginning to flake and still juicy rather than totally flaky and all dried out. Err on the side of caution here because you can always stick it back in for a couple more minutes. Besides, salmon is delicious undercooked or even raw (if your vendor is trustworthy).
There is something utterly marvelous about the combination of flavors here, and dear Lord, nothing could be easier to make.