Description
This easy Salmon Pasta Recipe Without Cream is incredibly delicious, a healthier option and the whole process goes so quick! No heavy cream but still a smooth silky texture from just a few ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless salmon fillets or lightly smoked rainbow trout 250g each.
- sprinkle of salt and black pepper, for the salmon
- 250 dried spaghetti (reserve 2 cups pasta water)
- 1 tablespooon coarse salt for pasta water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons capers, with or without the liquid
- 1 fresh lemon, juiced
- chopped sprink onion, fresh parsley or other herb
Instructions
- Start by bringing a pot of salted water to the boil to cook the pasta. Cook the pasta until about 2 minutes away from al dente yet. Drain, reserving 2 cups of pasta water and set aside.
- Pat the room temperature salmon fillets dry using kitchen paper/towel and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- On medium-high heat, get a large skillet on and add the olive oil. Once hot, place the salmon skin-side down and let it cook without interference. If the oil is to the side of the pan, gently lift and swirl the pan so it flows to the salmon. It will take roughly 4 minutes to cook.
Baste the fillet a few times then with an egg-lifter, turn it flesh-side down and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
The heat in the pan would have gained momentum by now so lower it to medium low and then baste a couple times.
Remove the salmon and set aside on a plate. Cover with alluminium foil and start the sauce.
Cook the Sauce
- Same pan, a little oil will be left from the salmon, don't add any more oil instead add half of the butter (1 tablespoon).
- With the heat on medium, cook the onions until soft, around 4 minutes. In the last minute or so, lower the heat and then add the garlic. If the heat is not low the garlic will burn so no sooner, shift the pan off the stove for a couple seconds to cool the pan down a little.
- Add the lemon juice and capers, give the pan a swirl or ligh mix. Let the liquid cook down a bit, about 2 minutes and in this time, bring the heat back up again to prepare it for the wine so get the heat to medium.
- Stand back a bit and pour in the white wine, on medium heat it will sizzle. Let it cook in and reduce just for about 1-2 minutes no more.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and as it melts add the cooked spaghetti. Use a pair of tongs to lift the pasta as you mix it into the sauce. It's best to do this in two or three parts depending on big your pan is. Gradully pour in the reserved pasta water, making sure it's all combined.
- Serve with the salmon, black pepper and your preferred freshly chopped herb.
Notes
To crisp the salmon skin: The skin will take around 4 minutes to crisp (approxiamately). After the first 2 minutes of not moving it, carefully tilt the pan slightly (stand back) and use a spoon to scoop and baste the skin.
Cooking the Pasta and Sauce Simultaneously
To cook the pasta and sauce simultaneously make sure the pasta cooks before the sauce is done. This way, you can transfer the pasta to the sauce without draining it. When you transfer the pasta, it will come with bits of pasta water, thats good. Swirl it into the sauce to emulsify. This will create a rich and flavorful coating on the pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a number of substitutes you could use, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, apple cidar vinegar, stock or even water. This recipe calls for around a ¼ cup of wine which can be omitted and then just splash lemon juice instead.
We love spaghetti with salmon but there are many varities to choose from, fusilli, penne, linguine (these 'little tongues" in Italian are wider than spaghetti but not as wide as fettucine) and fettucine which is a flat pasta that's popular in Beef Ragu and many more.
Quick answer is 4-9 minutes, long answer is that it depends on the thickness of the salmon so it could be 10-15 minutes. Just be sure to cook your salmon at room temperature and then use an instant read thermometer for accuracy . It should read 63C/145F for a cooked through finish.
Honestly, it's not that 'one fix' type of thing. Try adding chopped fennel and fresh chives. You can substitute with your own herb combination for flavor.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Calories: 449
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 252
- Fat: 22
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 35
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 23
- Cholesterol: 62