Creamy chicken pastas get all of the glory, but honestly, this creamy smoked salmon pasta is packed with just as much (if not more!) flavor and you don’t have to cook the protein! We like using smoked salmon filets, but tinned smoked salmon works just as well. Don’t skip the curry powder or skimp on the chives: together, these take this from being a plain and simple pasta to omg how-is-this-so-simple pasta.
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Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Description
Creamy chicken pastas get all of the glory, but honestly, this creamy smoked salmon pasta is packed with just as much (if not more!) flavor and you don’t have to cook the protein! We like using smoked salmon filets, but tinned smoked salmon works just as well. Don’t skip the curry powder or skimp on the chives: together, these take this from being a plain and simple pasta to omg how-is-this-so-simple pasta.
Ingredients
1 pound your favorite cut pasta, such as ziti
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon mild curry powder
Zest of ½ a large lemon
¼ cup sour cream, crème fraîche, or plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 ounces smoked salmon
Chives, finely chopped, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions, but for 3 minutes fewer than the directions call for. Before straining the pasta, reserve a mugful of the pasta cooking water (you’ll need at least ½ cup). Set pasta and cooking water aside.
- Place the emptied pot back on the burner over medium-low heat. Add the butter, and as soon as it melts, add the cream, ½ a cup of the pasta cooking water, curry powder, and lemon zest. Using a whisk or silicone spatula, stir to combine well. If the sauce begins to simmer hard at any point, lower the heat.
- Add the pasta to the pot with the sauce and toss once or twice. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and continue tossing to coat well. Remove from heat.
- Add the smoked salmon, breaking it up into pieces with your hands. Gently toss once or twice. Shower the whole pot of pasta with chives and serve immediately with or without grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Like any creamy pasta sauce, this is best served right off the heat. If you make this ahead, the pasta sauce will thicken and lose its silkiness, so be sure to reserve more than the ½ cup of pasta cooking water called for in the recipe. Use the extra water to restore your sauce whenever you reheat it.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes