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06.06.2014

2 ratings, avg : 5.00
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Pasta, fresh salmon, eggs and parmesan make up this gloriously tasty and easy meal. I’m calling it “Carbonara” and hoping I won’t get told off by any of my Italian friends.

As I said in the original Greek post, I do apologise to aforementioned Italians for using the name Carbonara in what may be to them a totally unacceptable way. I once read a veeery long thread of comments on a blog where a war had broken out over what constitutes a “real” carbonara. It was fascinating and quite entertaining to see how strongly people feel about the issue. I suppose I can understand, since I get more than a tad annoyed when people say things like “I made tzatziki with carrot and no garlic”. Um, you made something, but it wasn’t tzatziki my friend. The aggressiveness of the comments started to escalate dangerously when someone mentioned eating spaghetti with ketchup; it really was hilarious. I of course stayed well away from the debate as I’m guilty of several such crimes, including eating Heinz spaghetti on toast for a major number of my student dinners.

And here I am again, straying from tradition and doing strange things to a carbonara. I’ve come a long way since the –on toast days, so this is in fact a very delicious and if I may say so myself, sophisticated pasta dish. I stayed true to the sauce, which is just eggs and parmesan (no cream!), but out went the pancetta and in came the cooked fresh salmon. And the peas.

Call it what you will, this dish is very good and makes a great midweek dinner option. If you have some leftover cooked salmon, it can be whipped up in the time it takes to boil the pasta. If you don’t, I suggest grilling (broiling) the fish before you start (see note).

Ingredients

1 fresh salmon fillet, cooked, about 250gr (probably about 350gr when raw)

200gr pasta (I usually use spaghetti or penne)

2 eggs, room temperature

4 Tbs parmesan, finely grated, plus more to serve

1 Tbs lemon juice

1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly cracked

1/8 tsp salt, plus more to serve after you know how salty the fish is

1 cup frozen peas

Step 1

Cook the salmon if necessary. Boil the pasta in salted water according to package instructions.

Step 2

While boiling the pasta, beat the eggs in a bowl with the cheese, lemon, salt and pepper. Warm the fish if necessary and break it into large pieces.

Step 3

One minute before the pasta is cooked, take a tablespoon of the water and add it to the egg mixture while beating. Put the frozen peas in with the pasta and leave for a few seconds till the water just starts to come back to the boil. Strain the pasta and peas and return them to the pan, but leave the pan off the heat.

Step 4

Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the pasta and toss quickly. Don’t put it back on the hob as the egg will scramble on the bottom. Add the salmon pieces and toss again. Serve immediately with extra parmesan.

Notes: There’s some good advice on grilling/broiling salmon here. As regards the eggs, in theory the heat from the pasta is enough to cook them safe. I don’t know if that is the case, so I might be wary of serving this dish to high-risk groups such as pregnant women. The decision is yours.

2 ratings, avg : 5.00
Link Love

Dare we call them Carbonaras?
Smoked Salmon and Courgette Carbonara by Chez Foti (the original inspiration for my recipe)
Smoked Salmon Kale Carbonara Pasta by Windy Kitchen

So, what do you think? Leave me a comment!

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