I love green goddess dressing. Ever since I discovered it through our Green Goddess Salmon Burgers, I’ve been completely smitten with the stuff. And it’s really no wonder. You throw some of the best, most delicious herbs out there (i.e., basil, parsley, dill, tarragon, chive, and scallion) into one delicious sauce.
OF COURSE IT’S GOOD.
So I’ve really just been biding my time until I thought up a new green goddess recipe. Plus, now that spring has finally sprung, I can once again make this most delicious of sauces without breaking my piggy bank, as all the herbs are back out in force, and you can get a pretty sizable bunch for not too much money (not like the sad anemic herb bunches you find in the wintertime, or quelle nightmare, no herbs at all!).
This idea originally began as a recipe for a weird, pseudo Asian-ified salmon with green goddess herbs—along the lines of our Crispy Scallion Ginger Salmon. But the peanut gallery (i.e., the fam) shot that idea down pretttyyy hard, so it took a couple of hard turns and ended up as this Salmon Pasta with Green Goddess Pesto.
And I’m so glad it did, because this is my new favorite thing to eat. Like. As I was eating it, I literally felt #blessed that my brain conceived it. That’s how good it was. Literal back-patting happened. I loved it. The family loved it. It’s happening again—probably multiple times—this summer, without a doubt.
Sometimes your ideas are crappy. But then, from the nugget of crap, sometimes they can become great. #foodbloglyfe
A Celebration of All Things Green
But I will say that this isn’t quite a straight green goddess. There is one key substitution to this recipe. Namely, it’s a green goddess *pesto* that nixes the creamy element in favor of serving as supporting act to a delicious, caper-y, garlicky, and creamy pasta with peas and perfectly golden, crisped salmon that seriously makes for the most heavenly and addictive springtime meal.
SO SPRING HAS SPRUNG! AND it was Earth Day two days ago! Make this pasta to celebrate all things green and eat something that’s really, really, really, REALLY delicious.
Four really’s. Just make it.
(Note: If you’re not a salmon lover, you can also use chicken for this recipe. Just pan-sear some chicken breasts and slice them, or even shred the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Of course, if you’d like it to be vegetarian, feel free to just omit the salmon or chicken altogether. You’ll have a creamy, herby pasta with sweet peas as the star!)
Recipe Instructions
First make the green goddess pesto. In the bowl of a food processor, add the basil, parsley, dill, chives, scallions, tarragon, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Next, rinse your salmon fillet, pat it dry with a paper towel, and season with salt.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the salmon until cooked through on both sides, approximately 5-6 minutes per side (depending on the thickness of the fish and your preference for doneness).
When it’s cooked to your liking, transfer to a plate, and with two forks, flake the salmon.
Next, bring a pot of salted water up to a boil. Boil the pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and the garlic.
Stir the garlic until lightly browned, and then add the capers.
Turn the heat all the way down to low, and stir to combine. Add the heavy cream, followed by the peas. Stir to warm the peas through.
Add the cooked pasta and stir thoroughly until the pasta is coated in the cream.
At this point, you can season it with some fresh cracked pepper.
Next, add the pesto…
And stir to combine.
Top with the flaked salmon…
As well as additional black pepper to taste and the lemon zest. Serve!
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Recipe
Salmon Pasta with Green Goddess Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup basil (chopped)
- 1 cup parsley (chopped)
- 1/2 cup dill (chopped)
- 1/2 cup chives (chopped)
- 2 scallions (chopped into 1-inch pieces)
- 3 tablespoons tarragon leaves (stems discarded)
- Juice of half a lemon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (plus more to taste)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (plus 2 tablespoons)
- 1½ pounds salmon fillet (680g)
- 1 pound dried fettuccine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- ⅓ cup capers (drained and roughly chopped)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups frozen peas
- Zest of a whole lemon
Instructions
- First make the green goddess pesto. In the bowl of a food processor, add the basil, parsley, dill, chives, scallions, tarragon, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Next, rinse your salmon fillet, pat it dry with a paper towel, and season with salt. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the salmon until cooked through on both sides, approximately 5-6 minutes per side (depending on the thickness of the fish and your preference for doneness). When it’s cooked to your liking, transfer to a plate, and with two forks, flake the salmon.
- Next, bring a pot of salted water up to a boil. Boil the pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and the garlic. Stir the garlic until lightly browned, and then add the capers. Turn the heat all the way down to low, and stir to combine. Add the heavy cream, followed by the peas. Stir to warm the peas through.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir thoroughly until the pasta is coated in the cream. Next, add the pesto and stir to combine. Top with the flaked salmon, additional black pepper to taste, and lemon zest.
Nutrition Facts
