Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Pasta

Oodles of noodles. That's how many I feel I could eat, anyway. As I've grown into accepting that I am officially in my thirties, I've learned that I have to make those adult decisions like picking fresh fruit over a cookie and side salads over french fries (sometimes, anyway). My pasta addiction is no exception to the forces of change.

A colleague of mine pawned off (okay, gifted) some smoked salmon on me. I'd tried smoked salmon in small does - sushi restaurants, appetizers at events) but never actually bought a package of my own. I know it could be thrown on a salad or just eaten solo, but this was an opportunity to step out of the normal realm if ingredients, so I found some suggestions.

A pasta recipe caught my eye, and in order to healthify it a bit and get my veggies in, I swapped out the fettuccine for zucchini noodles. A few months ago, I was gifted with a vegetable spiralizer and immediately put it to use with Avocado Alfredo. Since then, zucchini noodles have become a go-to at my house. I prefer not only the health factors of eating fresh vegetables to flour pasta, but also the way that vegetables don't make me feel so completely and totally full after I'm done eating. That's one thing no one like about noodles.

I baked the asparagus first for about 15 minutes in the oven after lightly seasoning it with some salt, pepper, and garlic. I wanted it to have some crispness left, and my wish came true.

I spiralized some zucchini and lightly sauteed it in some avocado oil for about 3-5 minutes, until it was softened slightly.

To get started on the sauce, I melted some butter in a saucepan and added mince garlic and shallots. Why shallots? Though often I will us onions instead, shallots have a stronger flavor, so I decided go to legit. Once the garlic was lightly browned, I added half and half to the pan and whisked it together, then simmered it for about 5 minutes. To thicken the sauce more, I whisked 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch into a small amount of water, then stirred it in.

The beautiful thing about smoked salmon is the ease of use. Just slice and go! I cut the salmon into pieces 1-2 inches in size. I increased the amount from the recipe I was working from since I had a fairly large pack.

Finishing up the dish was just a matter of adding half and half, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Since I went with half and half instead of heavy cream as my main liquid, this is obviously thinner. I made up for it by mixing some tapioca starch into water and stirring it into the sauce. I let the mixture heat over medium until it began to simmer and thicken, then added chopped asparagus and salmon and turned the heat off.

After a bit of fresh dill was spinkled on top, my salmon noodle dish was ready.

This was a nice change. I liked the lemon dill flavor more than I expected, and was pleased with the salmon flavor. This particular salmon was smoked with maple and had a really good taste.The sauce was still a bit thin - maybe the use of half cream would have helped here, but I was really looking to cut back on the fat. Another option could be adding cheese and making this more of a parmesan sauce (not a good step in the healthy direction but I bet it would taste phenomenal).

Fresh made, this dish tasted very good and I will be adding more dill into the dinner rotation. If making for leftovers, I'd say to use regular pasta due to how it holds up in the fridge. I did eat these leftovers for a few days, though, and really liked it. The whole meal reminded me of something I'd find at an IKEA cafeteria!

All a lesson in stepping outside the food comfort zone. Give it a try sometime!

Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

3 zucchini, spiralized (about 3 cups zucchini noodles)
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 - 1 pound asparagus
1 package smoked salmon (up to 8 ounces)
1 cup half and half
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3-4 teaspoons salt
1-2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons fresh dill


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Chop 1 1/2 inches off of the end of each asparagus stalk, then place in a glass baking dish. Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil and toss asparagus to coat. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Once cooled, cut into pieces 1-2 inches long.

Use peeler or spiralizer to make zucchini noodles. Place into strainer bowl and salt lightly with 1 teaspoon of salt to pull out moisture; set aside for 15-20 minutes. Saute in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter for 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Strain out water.

Mince shallot and garlic clove, then add to saucepan with butter and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Whisk in half and half, lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch and water then add into skillet to thicken sauce. Stir in lemon juice, remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Slice salmon into cubes then add into sauce. Remove from heat. Stir in asparagus, then add zucchini noodles, sprinkle with chopped dill and serve.

adapted from fettuccine with smoked salmon and asparagus