Salmon with Garden Pesto and Lemon, Basil & Parmesan Orzo

Cooking for One or Two, Recipes

lemon-basil-orzo

Lemon Basil & Parmesan Orzo creamy and satisfying, the perfect complement to Bumble Bee SuperFresh® Salmon with Garden Pesto.

No matter how much you love cooking, when you work full-time outside of home, and even sometimes when you work full-time inside of home, it’s next to impossible to come home and cook a gourmet meal entirely from scratch. Bumble Bee SuperFresh® products are my new favorite solutions for weeknight dinners –particularly if you’re looking for an easy entertaining solution or a special date night dinner.

Photo: Bumble Bee SuperFresh®

Photo: Bumble Bee SuperFresh®

A little bit about these awesome new products: Bumble Bee SuperFresh® is a complete line of naturally-seasoned, restaurant quality, prepared seafood solutions for the home. It really and truly raises the bar for what seafood lovers can expect from frozen food.

The first thing you’ll notice when you open the bag or box is that Bumble Bee SuperFresh® smells amazing (and tastes amazing, but we’ll talk more about that later). No fishy smells here. Because you prepare Bumble Bee SuperFresh® straight from the freezer, there isn’t any smell associated with thawing fish. And our frozen protein has stayed that way from harvest to your oven unlike most of the “fresh” fish you find at the seafood counter. That means it is fresh tasting, and fresh smelling.

salmon-garden-pesto

I’ve tried several of the Bumble Bee SuperFresh® products and especially love the Salmon with Garden Pesto. The Bumble Bee SuperFresh® Salmon with Garden Pesto is so flavorful and has no preservatives and has all natural ingredients.

When I’m cooking at home, I’m all about sides that are simple, simple, simple. A baked sweet potato, roasted vegetables or when I’m craving something a little more creamy and comforting, a faux risotto is the way to go. This Lemon, Basil & Parmesan Orzo cooks quickly and is creamy, filling and the perfect side dish for light, fresh piece of fish.

You could serve this with a salad or a vegetable, but the meal itself is so delicious you really don’t even need any other bells and whistles.

Anytime you’re preparing a dinner that you want to go smoothly, as in, you don’t mistake the salt for sugar or completely omit the main ingredient, you should measure and set out all of the ingredients and tools you need before you start cooking.

ingredients-basil-orzo

This concept, referred to in classic French cooking as “mis en place’ may seem like it’s an extra step in the whole ‘cooking dinner’ process, but it will truly save you time in the long run, and when you’d rather be sharing a glass of wine with a significant other or friend, a little bit of time will go a long way.

lemon-basil-orzo

5.0 from 1 reviews
Lemon, Basil & Parmesan Orzo
Author: 
Recipe type: Weeknight Dinners, Weekend Cooking
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 (1/2 cup) servings
 
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup uncooked orzo
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • Basil sprigs (optional)
Instructions
  1. Cook the orzo according to package directions, without salt or butter. Drain and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
  3. Add garlic, sauté until slightly browned and fragrant, about one minute. Add lemon juice to deglaze the pan, loosening any stuck brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
  4. Add orzo and toss well. Remove from heat. Add basil, parmesan cheese, heavy cream (if desired for a creamier, risotto-like texture), salt and pepper. Toss well and garnish with additional basil, if desired. Serve immediately.
All you need now is a wine pairing, an appetizer and dessert.

Simple Date Night Menu

Appetizer: Pears with Brie and Prosciutto

Salad: Simple Caesar Salad

Entree: Bumble Bee SuperFresh® Salmon

Side Dish: Lemon, Basil & Parmesan Orzo

Wine/Cocktail Pairing: Aperol Spritz

Dessert: Red Velvet Cupcakes or Chocolate Whoopie Pies with White Chocolate Raspberry Filling

If you want to try Bumble Bee SuperFresh products for yourself (and I highly recommend that you do), you can grab a $2.00 off coupon from their website. They provide menu ideas and inspiration for other date night dinners, plus recipes and wine pairings, too.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

(Visited 1,133 times, 1 visits today)
Previous Story
Next Story

You Might Also Like

8 Comments

  • Reply
    Lauren Farrell
    November 18, 2015 at 2:20 pm

    This looks divine! Thank you for sharing such a tasty, easy recipe. Have a great day 🙂

  • Reply
    Megan {Country Cleaver}
    November 17, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    Looks delish!

  • Reply
    Nutmeg Nanny
    November 16, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    What a delicious looking dish! I actually really love using orzo because it cooks up so quickly.

  • Reply
    Sheena @Tea and Biscuits
    November 16, 2015 at 7:58 pm

    I didn’t know they had frozen seafood, I’ll need to have a look for that, great looking orzo too!

  • Reply
    Becca from It's Yummi!
    November 16, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    Bumble Bee tuna is my absolute favorite, so I’m definitely going to look for their seafood products! Your tip about mise en place is so true. I’ve destroyed dishes while cooking them because I had to stop to grab an ingredient or two.

  • Reply
    Kristyn
    November 16, 2015 at 7:02 pm

    This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  • Reply
    Maryanne @ the little epicurean
    November 16, 2015 at 6:02 pm

    Had no idea Bumble Bee has a frozen line. Looks delicious! (P.S. I have those same measuring cups from Anthropologie. They’re super cute!)

  • Reply
    Stephanie
    November 16, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    Seriously, I’m starving now and majorly craving this yummy meal! It looks amazing!

  • Leave a Reply

    Rate this recipe:  

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.