Seared Salmon Pasta and Asparagus in Garlic Cream Sauce
Seared Salmon Pasta and Asparagus in Garlic Cream Sauce
Instagram is my favorite social media platform. I could scroll through pictures of food, interior decor, fashion and kittens (So. Many. KITTENS!) all day long. Sometimes I’ll come across a picture of a dish that someone posts from a restaurant and I’ll think “I’ve got to make that!”.
That’s what happened to me today. I saw a photo of a delicious salmon and asparagus dish and ran out to the store to get the things I needed to recreate it. Well, not really recreate it because there was just a picture, no recipe included so really, my recipe was inspired by the photo but it’s not the actual recipe of the dish that was posted….ya, know what I mean?
Here’s how I made it:
First, cook the vegetables and boil your pasta
I used egg noodles for this recipe but bow tie pasta or shells would work just as well. While waiting for the pasta to cook I pan roasted the asparagus, lemon and grape tomatoes (you can use cherry tomatoes) in a little grapeseed oil. Any neutral vegetable oil would work for this. Roasting the lemon and tomatoes makes them so much more juicy and concentrates the flavor.
Next, make the cream sauce
After the pasta is finished cooking scoop out a cup of the pasta water and save it in case you need to thin the sauce later. Drain the pasta and set it aside. Make the cream sauce in the same pan. Add some sliced garlic for flavor, reduce the cream until it’s thick enough to coat the pasta, then add the noodles back to the sauce. Season with salt after you reduce the cream so you don’t concentrate the salt.
Finally, sear the salmon
Once the vegetables are finished cooking, remove the vegetables from the skillet and set them aside. Season the salmon and cook it in the same pan you cooked the vegetables. The salmon only needs to cook for 2-3 minutes per side. I like to leave it a bit pink and translucent in the center.
Serve
Break the salmon into large chunks and chop the asparagus into one inch pieces. Toss the salmon and vegetables with the noodles and top with some chopped chives. Squeeze a bit of charred lemon over the top. Serve right away, this dish is best hot.
Seared Salmon with Pasta and Asparagus in Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound egg noodles
- 1 cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons of grapeseed or canola oil
- 1 and 1/3 pounds of salmon
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- 1/4 cup chives
Instructions
- Cook the egg noodles according to package directions
- When the pasta is finished cooking reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the noodles.
- Add the heavy cream to the pan that you cooked the pasta in
- Chop the garlic and add it to the cream.
- Simmer the cream over medium heat until reduced by half
- While the pasta is cooking heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and add the asparagus and tomatoes.
- Cut the lemon in half and add it cut side down in the skillet
- Season the vegetables with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and roast until the vegetables have softened and browned
- Season the salmon with salt and pepper
- Remove the vegetables from the pan and add more oil if necessary and cook the salmon for about 2-3 minutes per side, until it's cooked to your desired done-ness.
- Chop the asparagus and chives, break the salmon into chunks and toss the pasta and vegetables together.
- Squeeze some charred lemon over all
Seared Salmon Pasta and Asparagus in Garlic Cream Sauce
