Spaghetti With Salmon Two Ways

- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- Salt
- 2½tablespoons unsalted butter
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1medium-large ripe beefsteak tomato, peeled, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
- 4ounces hot-smoked salmon, skinned, diced
- 1½tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
- 8ounces spaghetti alla chitarra, preferably fresh
- Ground black pepper
- 3tablespoons salmon or trout roe
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. While water is heating, melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Add lemon zest to butter and cook about 90 seconds, until the lemon is fragrant. Do not allow butter to brown. Remove from heat. Add tomato and salmon to the pan and stir briefly. Fold in mint.
- Step 2
When water boils, add pasta and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, then place pasta in the pot with the salmon and gently fold ingredients together. Season generously with pepper and, if needed, salt.
- Step 3
Divide pasta among 2 or 3 shallow plates. Top each portion with roe and serve.
Private Notes
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Comments
Trader Joe's sells hit smoked Pacific salmon, at least on the West Coast.
So good. Fusilli might make a better pasta choice here, as it would catch all of the roe that kept slipping away from my spaghetti. Use lots of course ground pepper and have a loaf of crusty bread handy to sop up the yummy leftovers.
Wow, what a treat this was. I had a mediocre salmon roe I wanted to use up and got a very nice fillet of regular smoked salmon. So easy, fast and good. The tomato made it “correct” and my salmon hater husband revised himself that he is no longer a salmon hater. The pasta before the roe was a bit bland but the roe and salty smoked salmon make it just right.
Loved it
Didn't have roe, didn't bother peeling or seeding the tomato (and it wasn't a beefsteak); this was still tasty. Added a ladle of pasta water with the final toss for juiciness.
So we had a pile of smoked salmon left over from a party...what to do? This recipe was a delicious, and easy answer! Only changes we made to the recipe were the addition a few shakes of Aleppo pepper with the black pepper, and wilted spinach in the pasta bowls. Found salmon roe at Whole Foods, and it was a nice briny flavor punch. We served with lemon wedges, and were happy they were available (we like lemon!) Next time we'll add some slivered onion and a garlic clove, or two.