Cilantro Pesto Arctic Char

Since I love all the ingredients in cilantro pesto, I've been wanting to try it for ages. The recipe I had in front of me called for hazelnuts but there were none in the house. I did have almonds, though, and threw those in. The taste was wonderful. I spooned the pesto on top of arctic char, my favorite fish of the moment. The results were tasty, colorful and very easy to prepare. If you have hazelnuts, do try them. I'm sure they will be fabulous in the pesto. Also experiment with other kinds of fish such as salmon or salmon trout. This recipe is based on one found in the September 2006 issue of Gourmet. I served it with brown basmati rice and sauteed asparagus and baby portobello mushrooms.

1 garlic clove

1 cup cilantro sprigs

1/2 cup almonds, toasted (or use hazelnuts, toasted and rubbed to remove skins)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. arctic char, sliced into 4 fillets

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the rack in the middle of the oven.

In a food processor, add the garlic clove and finely chop. Stop the processor and add the cilantro, nuts, salt, pepper and cayenne. Blend the mixture until it is coarsely chopped. With the motor on, add the olive oil and blend until just incorporated. The pesto should still be coarse.

Place the arctic char fillets, skin side down, in a lightly oiled baking dish. Spoon the pesto on top of the fillets. Bake in the oven until opaque (just cooked through) about 15 minutes.

Serves 4