Easy Smoked Salmon Pasta

This is a simple pasta dish with few ingredients but one that is packed full of flavour. It's cooked in just 20 minutes, so a regular mid week dinner in my house.

Quick and easy dishes like this are the ones we all fall back on during busy week nights, particularly when we've limited time to cook. The sauce is prepared and ready in the time it takes to cook some pasta.

This simple salmon pasta recipe is one I've made since my kids were little and they're still happy to eat it now. It's a great way of getting more oily fish into our weekly diets.

Recipe ingredients

• Dried pasta - I've used dried fusilli in this recipe, however you can use any other pasta shape, try linguine, spaghetti, tagliatelle, penne, farfalle, or whatever you have in your stores at home.
• Butter - I cook the vegetables in butter, but you can swap this for olive oil if you prefer.
• Onion - I use spring onions in this recipe as I like the fresh flavour, they also cook quickly which is ideal in this sauce.
• Garlic - for the best flavour use fresh garlic, although frozen garlic or garlic puree can work too.
• Wine - I use a good quality dry/medium white wine in the sauce.
• Garden peas - I like to add frozen garden peas to the sauce, they add a little sweetness.
• Crème fraiche - you can use full or reduced fat crème fraiche in this recipe, it adds a slightly sour sharpness which cuts through the oily fish and works well in the pasta sauce.
• Salmon - I use smoked salmon, I often look for a pack of trimming as I'm cutting the salmon into strips anyway. Trimmings are less expensive than regular sliced smoked salmon.
• Seasoning - I keep the seasoning simple with a little sea salt and black pepper.
• Garnish - I like to garnish the dish with some freshly chopped chives and a wedge of lemon for a burst of fresh citrus.

How to make smoked salmon pasta

• Place the pasta of choice in a pan of salted boiling water and cook, as per packet instructions, to al-dente. Drain the pasta, retaining a cup of the pasta cooking water for later.
• Meanwhile, over a medium heat, melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the spring onions and garlic, saute gently for a minute.
• Now add the white wine to the pan. Increase the heat and reduce the wine by two-thirds this will take around 5 minutes. After 2 minutes add the garden peas.

• Add the smoked salmon to the pan and gently stir through the sauce for a minute.

• Now add the crème fraiche to the pan, stir to combine before adding the cooked pasta to the pan.
• If the sauce is too thick add a little of the pasta cooking liquid. The starchy pasta water emulsifies the sauce and helps it adhere to the pasta.
• Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Recipe variations

• Oily fish - swap smoked salmon for fresh salmon fillet, hot smoked salmon or some smoked trout - you just need to adjust the cooking times depending on what you choose.
• Onion - swap springs onions for leek, onion or shallot, all would work well with the salmon. You will just need to soften these vegetables a little longer to take away the rawness, before adding the wine.
• Vegetables - swap the garden peas for some broccoli, or a handful of spinach or kale.
• Fresh herbs - I add freshly chopped chives to garnish the dish, you could also use parsley, basil or dill.
• White wine - the alcohol in the white wine does burn off as it cooks, however if your prefer no alcohol you can substitute some chicken or vegetables stock. I would also add a squeeze of fresh lemon, just before serving to give the sauce some acidity.
• Crème fraiche - swap crème fraiche for single cream (half and half), double cream (heavy cream), sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Serving suggestions

This is a filling bowl of pasta so I like to keep the sides light, serve a green salad or tomato salad. You can also serve crusty bread, focaccia or garlic bread if you want something to mop up the creamy pasta sauce.

Useful hints and tips

1. Don't over cook the pasta cook till just al-dente then drain.
2. Don't skip adding the pasta water, as the starchy pasta water helps get the sauce to emulsify and cling to the pasta. The salty water also helps season the sauce.
3. Double up this recipe if you are feeding a crowd.
4. For gluten free diners use a gluten free pasta.
5. For egg allergies, please check labels on the pasta, whilst a lot of dried pasta is egg free, many do contain egg so it's important to check. If you use fresh pasta in this recipe it almost always contains egg.
6. Allergy advice: gluten free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try our other great pasta dishes for feeding the family:

• Ham & Broccoli Pasta Bake
• Creamy Chicken & Bacon Tomato Pasta
• Spaghetti Bolognese
• Courgette Pasta
• Creamy Sausage Pasta
• Pumpkin Pasta

Looking for inspiration for feeding the family mid week, then take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Family Dinners. Full of useful hints, tips and recipes.