OMG: Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Cream and Dill

It’s been so long since we’ve had a new OMG recipe that to have two back-to-back is sheer food bliss.  One ended 2008, and this one began it.

One of my personal food resolutions this year is to do better in terms of using leftovers, not just dinner leftovers, but ingredient leftovers.  You know … like when you buy an ingredient to specifically make a recipe and you only use half of it?  I’m working on trying to use the other halves before they get pushed to the back of the refrigerator and end up as a science project for Nick to work on.  And it is because of this resolution that we encountered our first OMG recipe for 2009: Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Cream and Dill.

I’ve been trying to catch up on my recipe filing lately, and came across this clipping from an old issue of Bon Appetit magazine.  I had half a package of smoked salmon leftover from the Smoked Salmon Dip we had on Christmas Eve, so when I found this recipe, it was kismet.  Even better that I had all the other ingredients on hand as well.

When it comes to salmon, there are very few ways that I’ll eat it.  The dip is one, this pizza is another, and the third is a creamy rice dish that my mom makes.  This new recipe makes number four.  The recipe calls for cooking strips of the smoked salmon “until it turns pink,” which I’ll admit kind of threw me a little.  I mean, hello?  What color is smoked salmon?  Right, pink.  So cook the pink smoked salmon until it turns pink.  Alrighty then.  I don’t have to tell you that I didn’t have high hopes for this recipe after that, but I plodded through just the same.  It turns out that it really doesn’t turn pink, per se.  It’s more like a pale opaque really.  Just sayin’.

In the time it takes to cook the pasta, dinner is done.  Literally no more than 20 minutes and you’ll be sitting down to a luscious, rich, and sinfully deliciously satisfying meal.  This is the reason to stay home and cook.  This is the reason to eschew the call for take-out.  This is what it’s all about.  Dig in!

Writing here, there and everywhere:  Our neighbor is having a pregnancy craving for these bars so another batch is coming soon; one of my favorite girly drinks; one of the few ways that Nick will eat broccoli; the Top 100 recipes of 2008 from Food Network, and lastly, poor Nick and his recent restless night.

Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Cream and Dill
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine. The dish originally comes from Valvona & Crolla restaurant.

9 oz. dried linguini or penne (I used a different noodle.; if you sub here, just make sure to choose a noodle with a shape or ridges so that it will hold the sauce better)
3 tablespoons butter
12 oz smoked salmon, cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whipping cream (I used heavy cream)
1 teaspoon tomato paste (I used half of a small can)
3 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, divided
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.  Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat.  Add salmon and cook until fish turns light pink, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.  Stir in cream and tomato paste.  Cook until sauce is heated through, about 2 minutes.  Stir in 2 teaspoons dill and cayenne pepper.  Mix pasta into sauce, adding pasta cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls as needed to moisten.  Divide pasta among 4 shallow bowls.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon dill and serve.

4 servings

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