Creamy Pasta With Smoked Salmon, Arugula and Lemon

By Amanda Hesser

Creamy Pasta With Smoked Salmon, Arugula and Lemon
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(1,167)
Comments
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One selling point of smoked salmon is that you don't need to do much to it to get it on the table. Fold it on top of toast and dab it with sour cream and you have the lazy man's cocktail party. But take the salmon one or two steps further and you break out of the cliché. Salmon's buttery fat and smoke serve as useful flavoring elements. In this easy 15-minute meal, it's chopped up and used as a counterweight in pasta tossed with full-fat Greek yogurt, arugula, fresh dill, lemon zest and juice. It is, at once, lively and comforting.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4
  • Salt
  • ¾pound casarecci, gemelli or gigli pasta
  • 1cup Greek yogurt
  • ½pound smoked salmon, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1clove garlic, smashed and chopped
  • Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon (or a regular lemon)
  • 2cups packed arugula
  • 1½teaspoons chopped fresh dill
  • Coarsely ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

454 calories; 8 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 558 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salty water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta. While it cooks, combine in a large serving bowl the yogurt, salmon, garlic, lemon zest and juice, arugula and dill. Just before the pasta is finished cooking, scoop out ½ cup pasta water and reserve.

  2. Step 2

    Drain the pasta and slide it into the bowl. Using two spoons, toss the pasta and sauce as you would a salad. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water. Season to taste with salt and grind a generous amount of pepper on top.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,167 user ratings
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Comments

Bob Betke

Or maybe try the arugula with he correct amount of the other ingredients. I have to say I never understand the desire to try a recipe on the first try and then start making changes and major substitutions and then say it didn’t work. How about trying it the way the recipe is written and then deciding if you like it or not. Your name is listed as K Wagner not Julia Child. Sorry just my opinion for what it’s worth.

Jody

Is this recipe calling for smoked salmon as in "lox" or a filet of salmon that has been smoked and usually thicker?

Carson

This is really good! I will say - no need to realllllyyyyy pack the arugula. I packed as much as I could into each cup and upset the balance a bit. Of course, the finer the chop of garlic the better. This is definitely a delicious recipe, especially as we wish for spring to come along...

Tanel

Used the juice of half a lemon and it came out slightly too sour. Recipe calls for a full lemon to be used which seems insane to me.

holly

Fabulous recipe. I made a 2/3 recipe using asparagus (in place of the arugula) added for last two minutes of pasta cooking. Used half a lemon, whole milk Greek yogurt and basil instead of dill and lots of minced garlic. I thought it balanced well with a good smoked salmon. Will be my favorite summer meal served with a nice fruit salad.

Gyp

I cold smoked salmon to add to this. Cut back a bit on the salt in the pasta water. And add more arugula. Really really good.

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