Flamed Salmon with Parmesan Orzo and Salad

I have had a serious love affair with orzo ever since I discovered this recipe.

If you haven’t tried or used orzo before, it’s a rice-shaped pasta available in all big supermarkets.

It has short cooking time and is extremely versatile.

The first time I tasted it was in a hotel in a cold Mediterranean salad, but you can use it in soups, as a stand-alone side dish or in a variety of warm and cold salads.

In this recipe, I teamed up two of my most loved things – salmon and orzo.

The salmon is prepared a traditional way which we use when we are in a summer cottage in Finland – by flaming it. Full details below.

To get started with the orzo, here is the recipe.

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

Original recipe from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of butter
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 can chicken broth – or 400+ ml
1/2 cup or more of grated Parmesan
basil (I use dried basil for flavour, about 4 tablespoons and some fresh one for decoration)

Directions

Heat the butter in a large saucepan and add the orzo. Mix until the orzo starts getting brown (see photos below). At that point, lower the temperature and add your chicken stock. Bring to boil, cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Once cooked, add in the Parmesan and basil. Decorate with fresh basil and season with salt and pepper.

For salmon directions see below images.

To get your salmon ready, simply place the fillets on a fish grid and season with salt and pepper.

Rest the grid on the side of your grill, with the flames being a bit away from the salmon so that it doesn’t get burned. Depending on the thickness of your fillets and how hot you got the grill going, the salmon should be cooked in about 30-40 minutes. Handy tip – before starting with the cooking, rub the grid with some olive oil, it will make it a lot easier to get the fish off the grill once it’s cooked.

If you cook your salmon this way, you’ll never go back to any other way you might have cooked it before. It’s full of flavour, juicy and so easy to make!