Linguine in Asparagus sauce with smoked salmon and asparagus

Mark Gowen
Nov 9, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Nov 12, 2025

From Pasta & Magic: Oil Sauces. Order at:

https://www.pastaandmagic.com/buypastaandmagic

I have to confess that before I was researching and planning my book Pasta & Magic: Oil Sauces I only occasionally cooked pasta with smoked salmon - mostly because it was a reminder of the silliness of the 1980s. In hindsight of course there are a many other things from the 80s that I’d prefer not to be reminded of before smoked salmon and asparagus. Thatcherism, AIDS, Tiananmen Sq, pasta in cream sauces, most of my haircuts and all of my spooky exes are just a few contenders. Anyway, I survived and actually enjoyed this headfirst dive into my pasta past, even though I’m now shuddering at the returning memory of a smoked salmon pizza… but that’s another story.

So let’s get foodie. Back when I dreamt of having Bon Jovi’s perm and every single one of Richie Sambora’s guitars, smoked salmon on pasta was often accompanied by a couple of gallons of cream - and it might surprise you that this controversial pasta sauce ingredient has made something of a comeback in Italy in recent years. Here I’ve resisted the temptation though and instead I’ve made a sauce with about a third of the asparagus - just blended with a little pasta water, a pinch of pecorino (YES it’s allowed with fish) EVO and black and pink pepper. It eats juicy enough for you not to miss the cream and like many of the recipes in the first Pasta & Magic book, really allows the main ingredients to combine and shine.

ingredients

FOR FOUR PEOPLE

300g asparagus tips
350g smoked salmon
EVO
black/pink pepper
pecorino

PASTA
400g dry linguine

what you'll need to do

boil the asparagus
blend the sauce
slice the salmon
boil the pasta
combine, plate and serve

making the asparagus sauce

Cut any firm ends off the bottom of the asparagus tips. Cut the remainder into lengths of 2-3cm and boil until tender - but don't let them lose their bright green colour! Take about a third of the boiled asparagus smoked salmonand blend with a tablespoon of grated pecorino, a splash of pasta water and a drizzle of EVO.

preparing the smoked salmon

Simply slice the smoked salmon lox into ribbons about 5mm wide.

finishing and combining the sauce and pasta

When the pasta's cooked to your liking, fish it out of the cooking water and add to a tossing pan with the blended sauce. Toss to combine and add half the asparagus tips and half the salmon.

Plate each portion and add the remainder of the salmon and asparagus to each serving.