Smoked Salmon Pasta

This smoked salmon pasta is delicious and simple - it is so quick and easy - taking less than 15 minutes. The creamy salmon sauce is luxurious comforting. This has been my go-to smoked salmon pasta since my student days in Switzerland and now my children love it too. This smoked salmon pasta is a great recipe for using up leftover smoked salmon. I often make this in the days following Christmas and New Year.

I come from a salmon country, in Ireland, we really love our smoked salmon and are lucky enough to have some of the finest salmon swimming in our waters. Salmon fishing is tightly controlled to so as to protect the wild stocks; I remember how excited my brother was when he got his first license as a teenager.  I am such a salmon devotee that I have been known to get whole sides of Irish smoked salmon shipped to Asia when I feel homesick. 

This smoked salmon pasta recipe involves cooking the smoked salmon so I usually make it with the ends of a side of high-quality smoked salmon or with a regular supermarket-bought smoked salmon. I am not recommending you cook a Balik or a side of wild smoked salmon - those should be enjoyed raw and in their purest forms.

This salmon pasta recipe is certainly not a traditional Italian one as it involves both fish and cheese. One of the funnier meals I have eaten in Italy involved a waiter refusing to give my dining companion some parmesan cheese for his seafood risotto. He was deeply offended by the Englishman’s barbaric desire to mix cheese and seafood. 

Smoked Salmon Pasta

Yield: 4

Author: Dee Kirk

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Smoked Salmon Pasta

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Smoked Salmon Pasta

• 500g pasta
• 400g smoked salmon, cut into strips
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 200g crème fraîche or cooking cream
• 100g grated parmesan cheese
• Parsley to garnish
• Black Pepper to season

Instructions

Smoked Salmon Pasta

1. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.
2. Meanwhile, slice the smoked salmon, finely chop the parsley and finely grate the parmesan cheese.
3. Meanwhile, gently warm the salmon in the butter. Once it starts to turn a pale pink add in the cream. Season with pepper and allow very gently to simmer for 3-5 minutes.
4. A couple of minutes before the pasta is is cooked to al dente, add 4 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water and half of the finely grated parmesan cheese to the salmon and cream sauce
5. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water, and immediately add the pasta to the sauce. Coat all of the pasta evenly in the sauce. Note that the sauce will quickly dry up once you have add the cheese so you need to work quickly and keep some pasta cooking liquid in reserve loosen the sauce if necessary.
6. Garnish with the finely chopped parsley and at this point you could add a lightly steamed green vegetable such as asparagus or garden peas.
7. Serve immediately in warm dishes topped with the remaining grated parmesan cheese and a generous grind of black pepper.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @myskikitchen on instagram and hashtag it

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 250g pasta

• 200g smoked salmon, cut into strips

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 100g creme fraiche or cooking cream

• 50g grated parmesan cheese

• Parsley to garnish

• Black Pepper to season

Method

• Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet.

• Meanwhile, gently warm the salmon in the butter. Once it starts to turn a pale pink add in the cream. Season and allow to simmer very gently for 3-5 minutes.

• Stir in half of the parmesan cheese and then immediately add the pasta. Note that the sauce will quickly dry up once you add the cheese so you need to work quickly. Add some of the pasta cooking liquid to loosen up the sauce as needed.

• Serve immediately garnished with the parsley and topped with the rest of the parmesan cheese and a generous grind of black pepper.

Can I use leftover smoked salmon?

This smoked salmon pasta recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover smoked salmon, it’s also super quick and easy - ready in 15 minutes - making it the ideal recipe on the day after a party or event.

Can I cook smoked salmon?

Yes, you can cook smoked salmon very gently on a low heat. I usually serve the freshest and higher quality salmon raw and then make this smoked salmon pasta with the end of a side of smoked salmon to use up the leftovers..