Alaskan King Salmon With Sugar Snap Peas

http://nymag.com/restaurants/recipes/inseason/17241/

Dave Pasternack’s Alaskan King Salmon With Sugar Snap Peas
4 8-oz. wild king salmon fillets
3/4 lbs. sugar snap peas
3 oz. canola oil
1 oz. guanciale, julienned (available at Buonitalia)
3 oz. black mint leaves
4 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Bring large pot of salted water to boil.

Add the sugar snap peas and cook for two minutes. Remove and place in ice water to stop cooking.

In a nonstick sauté pan, heat the canola oil until hot but not smoking, and add the fillets skin side down and lower the flame. Cook the salmon for approximately five minutes or until the desired level of doneness is reached. (Tip: To get the skin crisp, press down on the fillets with your hand while cooking.)

In another pan, heat 2 ounces of the olive oil with the guanciale. Render guanciale until golden but not crispy. Add the sugar snap peas and 2 tablespoons of water. Heat through, add mint, and remove from heat.

Plate each fillet of salmon with a portion of the sugar snap peas. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve.

Garlic Scape Pesto

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/savoringsummer/2006/06/my_friend_the_garlic_scape_1.html

I love it with short pasta and few cherry or grape tomatoes thrown in for color and acidity. The scapes last through June, a small window to understand what the fuss is all about. If you're like me, you'll stockpile a bunch and whip up pesto to enjoy into the rest of the summer.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.

Garlic Scape Pesto

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/savoringsummer/2006/06/my_friend_the_garlic_scape_1.html

I love it with short pasta and few cherry or grape tomatoes thrown in for color and acidity. The scapes last through June, a small window to understand what the fuss is all about. If you're like me, you'll stockpile a bunch and whip up pesto to enjoy into the rest of the summer.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.