Roasted Salmon and Olive-Mustard Butter and Orzo
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 12 Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, pitted, chopped
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Olive oil
- 8 6- to 8-ounce salmon fillets (each about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
- 2 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta; about 1 1/4 pounds)
- Whole Kalamata olives (optional)
- Fresh Italian parsley sprigs (optional)
- Mix first 5 ingredients in processor until well blended but still slightly chunky, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.
- Season butter mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to small bowl.
- (Olive-mustard butter can be prepared 2 days ahead.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Soften slightly at room temperature before using.)
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Brush large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.
- Arrange salmon fillets on prepared sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roast salmon just until opaque in center, about 14 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite.
- Drain; return orzo to same pot.
- Add half of olive-mustard butter and toss to coat.
- Divide orzo among 8 plates.
- Top each serving with 1 salmon fillet.
- Place small dollop of olive-mustard butter atop each salmon fillet.
- Garnish with whole olives and parsley sprigs, if desired, and serve.
butter, olives, shallot, fresh italian parsley, mustard, olive oil, salmon, orzo, olives, fresh italian parsley sprigs
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-salmon-and-olive-mustard-butter-and-orzo-104941 (may not work)