Creamy Tomato Salmon with Chorizo and Mario's Pasta Salad

 

   Anna's table (hover over the name to find the original link) was once again the inspiration for this dish! Anything that has chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes and a creamy sauce makes me say "I'm IN!" and when this is paired with salmon... color me intrigued. This dish was my first red sauce salmon dish and I'm not looking back! I loved it so much I had to share it with you! 

     Even if the original recipe says you can eat it simply paired with bread, we decided to make Mario's pasta salad as a side. Who's Mario? Our Airbnb host from Bologna who made this pasta salad for us and we've been making it back home ever since! :D

    I'll say one thing: sure, maybe you don't have chorizo or sun-dried tomatoes lying around in the fridge, but even if you have to go the extra mile to get some of the ingredients, it's definitely worth it! I'd make it if I wanted to impress some guests ;) Yep, it's THAT good :D

Ingredients for 3 servings:

- 3 salmon fillets (150-200g each) - skin removed

- 100 g spicy Spanish chorizo sausage, diced

- 3 Tbsp olive oil

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 shallot, finely chopped

- 400 ml tomato sauce

- 200 ml light cream

- 40 g grated parmezan

- 120 g semi sun-dried tomatoes

- 1 tsp chili flakes

- 2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano

- salt and black pepper

Mario's salad:

- aprox. 200g pasta of your choice

- 5-6 cherry tomatoes

- 1 medium carrot

- 1 cornichon cucumber

- a small can of corn

- fresh basil

Dressing for the pasta salad: 

- 4-5 Tbsp olive oil

- mayo to taste

- 3 anchovies

Steps:

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, for 3–4 minutes or until golden and crispy. Remove, leaving the oil in the pan and set aside.

2. Pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel and season all over with salt and pepper. Add to the same pan and sear, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. In the same skillet, add shallot and garlic, cook until softened, about 2 minutes. 

4. Add tomato sauce and bring to a simmer, allow to cook for 5 minutes.

5. Boil the pasta for the salad. Peel and cut the veggies for the salad.

6. Returning to the main dish: stir in light cream, parmesan, oregano and sun-dried tomatoes, simmer for about 3 minutes. 

7. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes. 

8. Add salmon back into the skillet. Allow to cook for 3 more minutes or until the salmon is just cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened.

9. Serve the dish topped with fresh oregano and crispy chorizo. 

10. Mix the veggies and the pasta to make the salad. Serve as a side. Bon appetit! :)

Cheesy Peasy Salmon Pasta

 

   If you love pasta as much as I do and you wanna try a new recipe, you're in the right place:) Let me show you a delicious way to marry salmon, asparagus, peas and pasta :D I prepared the recipe from the "Yum and yummer" book written by Greta Podleski, but I tweaked the cooking cream and the quantity of lemon juice because ours wasn't saucy enough and I don't know about you, but I like all my pastas SAUCYYYY!!!

Ingredients for 2 servings:

-  170g uncooked bow-tie pasta

- 1 cup chopped fresh asparagus

- 3/4 cup frozen peas

- 2 tsp butter or olive oil

- 2 tsp minced garlic

~ 400 ml of light cooking cream

- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parm cheese and extra for serving

- 1 Tbsp minced fresh dill

- lemon juice from a lemon

- 1 tsp grated lemon zest

- aprox. 150g cooked salmon, cut into chunks

- freshly ground black pepper

! Important note: respect the indicated veggie quantities (I'll explain why below)

Steps:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions and add the asparagus and the peas during the last 3 minutes of cooking time.

2. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat until it's frothy. Add the garlic and cook it until it's golden (about 1 min). Be careful not to burn it!

3. Add the cooking cream to the pan and then increase the heat to medium-high. Cook and stir until the mixture bubbles. Add the cheese, the dill, the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Mix well. 

4. Add the salmon to the pan and cook it almost completely. 

5. Drain the pasta and the veggies and add half of them to the sauce. I recommend to first see if half of it is enough to feed 2. (I didn't respect the exact measurements for the peas and the asparagus and I think I put in too many veggies because I ended up with a double recipe and I wish I had only added half of it in the sauce :) ) Add more cooking cream if it's not too saucy.

6. Mix all the ingredients and serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper and extra Parm cheese on top :) Bon appetit!