Power Lunch!

On my last short Friday of summer, I came home to make myself something fancy for a late lunch. It honestly came together pretty quickly, and was really good. I present to you: Pan Seared Salmon with Steamed Snow Peas and Lemon Pepper Fauxsotto!

Ok, so my actual sear turned out pretty lack-luster because the fish stuck to the pan too much, but there's just no beating the yumminess of salmon au naturale! The "fauxsotto" was just great, though. Basically I wanted to make a quickie risotto, so I used orzo pasta instead of the special rice. It worked out really well. Here's the recipe:

Lemon Pepper "Fauxsotto"

1/2 box orzo

1 T butter

1/2-1 C white wine

2 t freshly cracked black pepper

1 T dried parsley

juice of 1 small lemon (~1.5 Tablespoons)

salt, to taste

Bring a small saucepan full of water to a simmer. In a larger pot (in which you'll actually be cooking the fauxsotto), melt the butter over fairly high heat. Add in the orzo and keep stirring it, being careful that none of the grains burn.

Once a few of the orzo have "tans", lower the heat to medium or so and add in the wine. Keep stirring, as the pasta will drink it up very quickly! Once the moisture is mostly soaked in, add a little of the hot water from the small pan-- just enough to make the orzo into a loose slurry. Keep stirring-- once the liquid is low again and the pasta is just about pulling away from the bottom when you stir it, add a little more hot water until it's sticky again. Continue this process until the pasta is cooked through and the consistency is just a little thicker than where you want it to be when you're done.

At this point, reduce the heat to "low" and add the lemon juice, pepper, and parsley. Stir everything together until the fauxsotto is creamy and rich-looking. If you need to let it stand while you finish with other parts of the meal, you should probably put a lid on the pot to keep it moist. It will serve 2 or 3.

That's it! The fauxsotto is really smooth and flavorful without taking hours to make, and the lemon and pepper make a very satisfying kick to contrast with it. Of course this combo matches great with the crisp snow peas and sweet salmon, but if you wanted you could even reduce the lemon and add some garlic in the beginning with the butter, add a little extra water, and mix some cooked shrimp or chicken in at the end to make a sort of fauxsotto scampi. What a nice change from rice or "normal" pasta!