Wild Caught Salmon Meatballs with Simple Pesto

5 from 12 votes

3-4 wild caught salmon fillets skinned (about 1 – 1 ¼ lbs of salmon)
2 tbsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried parsley if you have fresh parsley, use 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried dill if you have fresh dill, use 2 tsp chopped leaves of the fresh dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
Heaping 1/3 cup walnuts If you have access to pine nuts use 1/3 cup of that. Pine nuts would be the more traditional way of making pesto – I don’t have access to quality pine nuts, so I usually use organic walnuts
½ cup raw cheese or goat cheese shredded
¼ tsp sea salt start here and you can always add more to taste depending on the saltiness of the cheese you are using.
Pinch of pepper to taste
1-3 cloves of garlic (If you are a garlic fanatic do the 3 – you won’t regret it! It does add a slight spicy bite since raw garlic has some heat to it – it is my favorite way to eat pesto. If you have kids eating the pesto, use 1 clove of garlic. Two of my girls love the garlic packed version, while my youngest still feels like it is a bit spicy for her and will gobble it down with just 1 clove. If you are new to pesto, start out with 1 clove – you can always add more if you want more garlic flavor.)
½ cup olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper
Skin and cube up your salmon. Then run a chopping knife through the cubed salmon until the bits are small but not to a puree. The texture should resemble that of ground beef.
Combine the chopped salmon and the rest of the salmon meatball ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Roll the meatball mixture into balls and place them onto the Silpat lined baking sheet.
Bake the salmon meatballs at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs.

Put the basil leaves and walnuts into your food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
Add the cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic, and pulse several times to chop through until everything is very small and combined well.
With the food processor running, use the oil drip top on your food processor to slowly add in the olive oil. This will allow the oil to emulsify, thickening the pesto, and keeping everything sticking together so the oil doesn’t separate. If you prefer the oil to be more separate from the herbs (I like it this way too!) you can just do a quick blend through or even just stir in the oil.