What could be more appropriate to the weather tug-of-war that is Springtime in Duluth, MN than an ample plate of pasta festooned with smoked salmon? Recently, while filtering through an inbox of email nonsense (due Friday? How about next Monday?) a thrilling word was on a subject line: *( and Rosé) - and we knew a new smoked salmon recipe was in order.
Humans, we made it through another winter. There's something in the air -- maybe it's the sudden sunlight and early storms? Maybe it's the oomph in people's steps? Let's just say we are starting to dream about Rosé.
Whatever your reason might be, we are eager to sip, cook with friends and relax.
The cocktail recipe inspired us to make something light and citrusy. We paired our favorite Haus-smoked salmon with an affordable, fresh and fruity Rosé (we substituted a bottle of sparkling Rosé for La Vieille Ferme 2015).
*If you don't have a bottle of St. Germain liqueur just laying around in your house, the chilled Rosé is still quite the treat. However, that liquor is like liquid gold. Use it today, use it tomorrow, use it forever.
Ingredients
½ lb Smoked Alaskan sockeye salmon, cubed
1/2 Shallot, diced
4 Cloves of garlic, diced
1 T Cracked black pepper
1/2 Lemon, zested and juiced
1 C Fresh parsley, chopped
10 Asparagus stalks 228 g (two servings worth)
Dry angel hair pasta
Canola oil or olive oil for cooking
Salt to taste
3 T Butter
4 T (¼ cup) of White wine (Sauvignon Blanc works great. It’s light, dry, herbal & floral, which will create a nice dimension).
Directions -
After getting your mise en place all ready (aka prepping your ingredients), get salted water boiling and cook pasta al dente, strain, toss in 1 T (or so - enough to prevent sticking) olive oil. Save 2 Tablespoons of pasta water - the gluten will be useful for the sauce.
Heat 1 T of oil and 1 T of butter over medium-high heat. Lightly salt and cook the asparagus until they are nearly tender, 4-5 minutes. Remove the asparagus and set them aside for later. We want the asparagus to be a little undercooked here because we will be adding them back in later.
If the pan seems dry, add a little bit of olive oil to the same pan and sweat shallots over medium heat until they are nearly translucent. Add another 1 T of butter and add the garlic and salmon. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes to combine flavors.
Add wine and the pasta water you saved. Add the rest of your ingredients (black pepper, lemon zest and juice). Toss in the asparagus and add another tablespoon of butter. Let your ingredients simmer for about 5-7 minutes until the sauce reduces and becomes slightly thickened and reduced.
Toss in the pasta and add the fresh parsley. Mix and serve!