Smokey Salmon Pasta

I’ve been on a seafood pasta trend lately. I don’t know why, but I just love all the different combinations possible. As a follow up to my Totally Tuna pasta recipe, I decided to get my hands dirty with some good ol’ smoked salmon. This version blends the fish with a creamy sauce and caramelized onions. The flavors are amazing and really make for an original dish. If you ever get bored of your typical marinara, take a plunge with this salmon sauce (yes, pun intended). Additionally, this dish comes together really quickly. The sauce is ready by the time the pasta is cooked, which takes about 15 minutes total. Bon appétit!

Prep time: 15 min

Ingredients:

100g penne pasta (preferably whole wheat)
1oz. cream cheese
1-2 slices smoked salmon
1/4 yellow onion
1 tbsp tomato paste
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it reaches the texture you like (mine is al dente in 10 minutes).
While the pasta cooks, sautée the diced onion in a pan with salt and olive oil. When it becomes brown and slightly caramelized (about 5 minutes), add about 2 tbsp of the pasta water and let it evaporate.
Add the cream cheese and let it melt. Next, add the tomato paste with two to three spoonfuls of the pasta water. Stir well so that the sauce becomes homogenous and let it cook for an extra couple of minutes.
When the pasta is almost done, add about 3/4 of the smoked salmon bits and adjust the seasoning of the sauce with salt and pepper. Stir in order to incorporate all the ingredients together.
Reserve about 1 tbsp of the water before you drain the pasta. Then, toss it with the creamy salmon sauce until it is well coated. At that point, you can use the extra pasta water to make your sauce more fluid. Top with the rest of the smoked salmon and enjoy!

TIP: You can squirt some lemon juice on top of it for extra flavor!