Salmon & Shrimp with a Basil Romesco Pesto and served with a Fresh Herb & Lemon Bulgur Pilaf

This was last night's meal.  Delicious, very filling, and only 572 calories.  Compare that to a McDonald's Big Mac, sandwich only, at 540 calories, and I know I'm way ahead in my healthy eating.  In fact, all my meals combined yesterday gave me 1642 mg of sodium.  A Big Mac packs 1050 mg of sodium into one sandwich.  Wow!

Sorry, I didn't mean to bash Big Macs.  Lord knows, I've eaten many of them in my life time.

But now, I'm trying to eat healthier, and, and most fast food burgers simply do not make it onto my menu anymore.  There are a few exceptions, that might work their way back into my rotation.  For instance, any of the In 'n Out burgers can be served "protein" style - wrapped in lettuce leaves - with reduces both carbohydrates and calories, at least.  The Habit Burger chain will also serve their burgers in a lettuce wrap, upon request.

That said, if I am going to eat burgers out anymore, I will be looking for ones that come from only grass fed beef.  It's healthier for the cow (cows aren't made to eat corn, it makes them sick, and forces the farmer to feed them anti-biotics and hormones to keep them well, and to process the corn), and the meat tastes so much better.

For instance, a couple of years ago, Kasi and I decided to spend the weekend over at the coast, in the Cambria, CA, area.  One of the things we wanted to do was tour the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA, so we purchased our tickets for a 12:45 tour the next day.  The next morning, I was searching Yelp.com for somewhere good to eat lunch before heading up to the Castle, and came across Sebastian's Store, by the beach, in San Simeon.  It had received excellent reviews for its sandwiches and burgers.

Needless to say, we went.  I had the tastiest, juiciest, burger, I've ever eaten.  Why was it so good?  The meat came from grass fed beef, raised to roam the land around Hearst Castle.  Very fresh, very local, grass fed beef.  There simply is nothing tastier.  My review of Sebastian's Store, on Yelp!, can be found here.

Yum!

But, as a healthier meal choice, I am now looking primarily to seafood for my meat entree.

Last night's meal provided both salmon and shrimp.  Both were formerly frozen, and were the Kirkland brand.  For the salmon, Kasi and I split one of their 7 oz filets, and we did a whole serving each of the 31-40 count frozen, tail on, shrimp - 8 shrimp a piece.

The Basil Romesco Pesto (recipe below) was made fresh, of fresh ingredients, while the fish cooked.

The Fresh Herb and Lemon Bulgur Pilaf (recipe below) was also made fresh, of fresh ingredients, and was prepared just prior to the fish cooking, and was resting with the lid tightly on, while the fish cooked.  It was very easy to stage, and was very delicious.

My only issue with the meal was that the Bulgar had more of an South Asian food flavor profile, and the Basil Romesco Pesto had more of a Mediterranean food flavor profile.  They were each delicious, and good together, but, frankly, not perfect.

I had been hoping for more of a Spanish paella profile to go with the seafood.  I think the next time I do this, I'll substitute saffron for the turmeric.  It will give it a very similar coloring, and the flavor profile will better fit the rest of the dish.

By the way, the extra Basil Romesco Pesto would be very good over pasta.  In fact, that may be my lunch today.  :)

Here is what the dish looked like.  The recipes are below.  I'm sorry the Pesto hid the pretty pink of the salmon.

Salmon & Shrimp with a Basil Romesco Pesto

(The salmon & shrimp are for 2 people, the Pesto makes about 6 servings, 2 Tbs, each) 307 calories per serving. 

1/2 lb                              Salmon fillet

16                                    Shrimp, medium
1 tsp                                Olive oil

Dash                               Salt and Pepper

2                                      Roma tomatoes
1                                      Garlic clove, peeled
TT                                   Salt and Pepper
small handful                Basil leaves
3 Tbs                              Pine nuts
1 Tbs                               Balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs                               Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a baking dish with oil, and place your salmon in it.  Drizzle the olive oil over the salmon, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put it in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until just done.

While the fish is cooking, make the Basil Romescu sauce. Place the chopped tomatoes, pine nuts and garlic in the food processor, pulse until coarsely ground. Add the pepper, salt, vinegar, oil and basil. Pulse until basil is minced.

Cover the cooked fish with the sauce and enjoy.

Fresh Herb & Lemon Bulgur Pilaf

(6 servings, about 1 cup each) 129 calories per serving. 

2 Tbs                                 Extra virgin olive oil

2 cups                               Onion

1 clove                              Garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups                        Bulgur

1/2 tsp                             Ground Turmeric

1/2 tsp                             Ground Cumin

2 cups                              Vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups                        Carrot, chopped

2 tsp                                 Fresh Ginger, finely chopped

1 tsp                                 Salt

1/4 cup                            Fresh dill, finely chopped

1/4 cup                            Fresh mint, finely chopped

1/4 cup                            Flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

3 Tbs                               Lemon juice, or more to taste

Heat oil in a Dutch oven, or other large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a piece of onion. 

Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, until onions are golden brown, about15 minutes. 

Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the bulgur, turmeric, and cumin, and cook, stirring, until the bulgur is coated with oil, about 1 minute.

Add the broth, carrots, ginger, and salt, and bring to a boil, stirring. 

Cover, and cook over medium-low heat until all the broth is absorbed and there are indentations in the surface of the bulgur, about 15 minutes. Do NOT remove the lid during this time, and do not stir the pilaf.  Be patient.

Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for at 5 minutes.

Stir in the dill, mint, parsley, and lemon juice into the pilaf.  Cover, and let rest until ready to serve.