farfalle con salmone affumicato e asparagi
farfalle with smoked salmon and asparagus
Some time in the late 80s I remember showing my nonna this recipe from Cucina Italiana magazine and her saying, “…oh, is this another one of those modern pasta recipes?” I don’t do creamy pasta very often so last night this was a little out of the ordinary and out of my pasta comfort zone - can’t help thinking this still has a kind of red braces, 80s feel to it …. In fact I’m more likely to do this without the cream and just olive oil and lemon juice instead.
This is definitely one of those recipes where less is more - I’ve seen dozens of cream and salmon plates on social media which look like someone’s tipped a bucket of cream soup on a pile of pasta. Or added far too strong flavours for the salmon, like garlic or ginger. I’m not saying those pairings don’t work, I just think you should find the conviction to add less and be amazed at how the key ingredients come through …
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
boil the asparagus
tear/cut the salmon
pick some dill
grate some cheese
boil the pasta
warm the cream
combine pasta & ingredients
farfalle with smoked salmon and asparagus
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
750g asparagus spears
100-150ml single cream
250g smoked salmon
dill to taste
parmesan to taste
olive oil to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
PASTA
500g farfalle
MANTECATURA (?)
hardly any
METHOD
Boil the asparagus and when it's lost its crunch (but before it turns a nasty khaki colour) fish it out of the cooking water and cut into small sections, 20-30mm long. Cut or delicately chop the smoked salmon, then as you cook and boil the pasta, grate some cheese and pick some dill, ready to use later.
As the pasta begins to approach 'al dente', begin to very gently warm the cream in a pasta wok - don't let it begin to boil, simply let it steam. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of dill and maybe a tablespoon of grated Parmesan, which you could stir in to the cream very delicately. The pasta in this recipe isn't meant to be swimming in cream, but bear in mind that cream sauces tend to dry up and dehydrate very quickly... so even if you're going for a subtle creamy glaze, consider adding a little more cream than you think you need to coat the pasta. It will soon seem a lot less liquid.
When the pasta has just passed 'al dente', transfer it to the sauce wok with the cream, and take that off the heat. Toss to combine. Add 2/3rd of the asparagus and salmon, holding the remainder back to garnish each portion. Toss to combine all the ingredients, pasta and sauce. Plate, adding asparagus and salmon, dill and either black or cayenne pepper on the top. If you really want to go OTT 80s, consider dropping the dill and cayenne and sprinkling some lumpfish caviare on the top instead!
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 722
Fat (g): 21.0
Sat Fat (g): 7.1
Carb (g): 94.8
Sug (g): 8.5
Fibre(g): 6.2
Prot (g): 36.6
Salt (g): 1.97
