Baked Salmon with Pesto, New Potatoes and Green Beans

Ingredients

• 600g new potatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 salmon fillets, skin on (approx. 150g each)
• 250g fine green beans, trimmed
• 30g fresh basil leaves
• 40g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
• 40g pine nuts
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 80ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• fresh basil leaves, to finish
• 20g pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Mixed leaf salad, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Toss the halved new potatoes with 2 tbsp olive oil on a large baking tray, season well, and roast for 20 minutes until beginning to turn golden at the edges.
2. While the potatoes roast, make the pesto. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes until golden and fragrant, then tip into a small food processor with the basil, Parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and juice. Blitz briefly, then drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil and pulse to a loose, textured paste. Season to taste.
3. After 20 minutes, push the potatoes to the edges of the tray to create space in the centre. Nestle the salmon fillets skin-side down in the gap and season well.
4. Spoon a generous tablespoon of pesto over each salmon fillet, spreading it to coat the top.
5. Scatter the trimmed green beans around the potatoes, season lightly, and return the tray to the oven for 12–14 minutes until the salmon is just cooked through with the flesh opaque and flaking at the thickest point, and the beans are tender with a little bite.
6. Remove the tray from the oven. Spoon the remaining pesto over the potatoes and green beans and toss gently to coat.
7. Finish with fresh basil leaves, the toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, an extra grating of Parmesan and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon. Serve straight from the tray with lemon wedges, crusty bread and a mixed leaf salad alongside.