Penne With Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Cream

Submitted by CHRISSYG

"What speaks more of spring than asparagus? Velvety textures of cream and the smoked salmon are well balanced with crisp-tender asparagus and the freshness of lemon zest. This is a creamy flavorful dish that I've created on my own after trying some less than exciting versions from other cook books and magazines. I hope you enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 12mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 lb penne or 1 lb other short pasta
• 1 lb asparagus, cut into 1 & 1/2 in. pieces
• 3 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2⁄3 cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, julienne, grated
• 4 -6 ounces smoked salmon or 4 -6 ounces nova lox
• 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped divided
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons locatelli cheese or 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

directions

1. Cook pasta in plenty of boiling salted water per package directions. (al dente).
2. Melt butter in frying pan and add shallots.
3. Sautee’ 1-2 minutes until they begin to sweat.
4. Add asparagus and continue to sautee’ until crisp-tender.
5. Once the asparagus are crisp-tender add half and half, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons dill and salt. Bring to a light simmer.
6. Drain pasta and add the pasta and the salmon to the cream sauce, lightly toss and heat through. Turn into serving bowl or platter and top with remaining dill and sprinkling of grated cheese.

Reviews

[TUMaggieMay]

This was pretty good. There wasn't enough sauce for the pasta and I had to make more. The flavor was pretty good though. I would make it again but I would double the sauce next time.

 

[Peter J]

Mmmm, this was really good, the smoked salmon and cream were great together! I didn't have any fresh dill so instead used dried dill during the cooking and garnised with continental parsely.

 

[Soobeeoz]

This was great, and that's coming from someone who doesn't particularly like smoked salmon, especially in pasta. I'm not sure how good a judge that makes me, but to me the balance of flavours was perfect. And it was quick & easy to make, too. I used bavette in place of the penne, full cream, more parmesan than suggested, a sprinkling of cracked pepper and 200gm of the best smoked salmon I could find. Thank you for a recipe I'm sure to make again soon.