Talakitok (trevally) steaks with homemade pesto
November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ ConniePine nuts are the traditional ingredient for making pesto but I have substituted macadamia and pili nuts in the past and the results have both been good. A few days ago, I used cashew nuts. And because I was going to use the pesto as the base in which to cook fish steaks, I ditched the anchovies altogether. And for a more citrus-y flavor, I used lemon basil leaves which are more common in Southeast Asia.
Instead of cooking the fish separately and tossing them with the pesto afterwards, I cooked the fish steaks in the pesto over low heat. The result? Fish meat that absorbed the saltiness and garlicky flavor of the pesto. And, despite the amount of oil in the sauce, I didn’t have to worry about cholesterol because I used extra virgin olive oil to make the pesto. We were pouring the sauce over the rice and mixing it in. Darn, it was good. 
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients :
1 k. of fish steaks (I used talakitok but feel free to substitute your choice)
a large bunch of fresh basil leaves (I recommend lemon or Thai basil)
half a head of garlic
half a cup of roasted cashew nuts (salted or unsalted)
juice of one lemon or lime (I recommend lime which has a more delicate flavor)
salt
pepper
a cup to a cup and a half of extra virgin olive oil
Cooking procedure :
Wash and clean the fish steaks. Pat dry and set aside while you make the pesto.
Trim the basil, discarding the stalks. Wash the leaves and place between stacks of kitchen towels to remove excess water. If you have a salad spinner, that’ll do a better job.
Crush and peel the garlic.
Place the basil leaves in the blender or food processor, add the nuts and garlic. Pour in the lemon or lime juice and a cup of extra virgin olive oil. Process until smooth. If the liquid isn’t enough to liquefy the solid ingredients, add more olive oil, little by little, until the motor is running smoothly. Season the pesto with salt and pepper and pulse a couple of times.
Pour half of the pesto in a shallow pan large enough to hold the fish steaks in a single layer. Heat gently. When hot, arrange the fish steaks in the pan and pour the rest of the pesto over them. Cover the pan and cook the fish for about five minutes (more or less, depending on the thickness of the fish steaks). Turn the fish steaks over and cook for another five minutes or so, or until done.
Serve the fish steaks immediately with hot rice and enjoy.
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Interesting use of cashews in a pesto. Have to try that sometime. We’ve used walnuts and almonds before, but not cashews.
Thanks for the tip.
http://www.eatingclubvancouver.blogspot.com
Hindi ko na naman matitikman yan?
hmm… looks delish. bet this will be good with salmon fillet as well! will definitely give this a try. thanks connie!
Speedy, inubos ni Alex hehehe
Redge, yes, I’m sure it will be great with salmon.
Ang sarap naman nyan. Nakakainggit kaya
Anything with evoo, good and healthy, siyempre.
As always, all the best to you, Sassy.
Cheers!
I agree, pesto is also great with Salmon fillets. But I’ve never done this on the stovetop yet. I simply slather pesto on Salmon and wrap them in aluminum foil, then inside the oven they go.
naglaway naman ako dito
I tried it! Kakaluto ko lang nito. Although I used mahi mahi instead of talakitok cause that’s what I found in my freezer. Double darn! It really IS good! Sarap!
Tried it last night too! ang sarap! Brought some for my lunch too, kaka kain ko lang. Even better the next day!
I used pine nuts because it’s what I had. We can’t ever keep cashew nuts in the pantry for long. Pinapapak nila lol! I also used frozen basil, which I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out because it looked black out of the freezer, but after being reblended with additional olive oil, garlic, pinenuts and lemon juice, the color became vibrant again!
hi miss connie,
i tried this out last weekend, it was great! my mom in law (and hubby) was impressed…for someone who is not a good cook like me, it really made my day! instead of talakitok, i used bangus steaks coz that is the only fish (besides tilapia) that my MIL eats (she’s also into low-fat, low sugar diet kasi diabetic)
now i know how to make pesto from scratch yehey! goodbye to commercial pesto hehehe…
thanks so much!!
JMom, when I find pine nuts, I’ll try making pesto with them and compare the taste with pesto made with cashew or pili nuts.
Anna, more satisfying when you rely less on store-bought sauces, right?
ms.connie, gusto ko pong malamang kung gaano katagal bago masira ung pesto sauce? pwde b siyang iimbak?
We use home made pesto within two weeks. Dunno if it lasts longer than that.
hi miss connie! thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. i tried cooking it twice, w/ bangus and maya-maya. i served the latter to my daddy’s visitor last sunday and the guest ask my dad if i work in a restaurant coz they were amaze and delighted w/ the taste of the dish.hehehe kala yata nila chef ako. i also want to ask if i can use another kind of oil for making pesto sauce? medyo mahal kc ung olive oil. i usualy use canola oil kc.thank you and more power!
i tried this for lunch & it was so yummy. my hubby ate alot even if he just had his impacted tooth extracted, kinulang pa siya sa rice