Fast Salmon and Pasta

What happens when you have too much to do in a given day, but want to make something fresh, fast and easy for your family for dinner?  How about incorporating a little Omega-3 action into your diet with a serving of wild-caught Atlantic salmon?  Add some pasta and some veggies and this is almost a one pot meal!  This is one of my very favorite recipes because it has very few ingredients, can be thrown together in minutes and, now that my son can eat fish, is one of the only salmon recipes that everyone in the family will eat. 

For our family, I take about a pound of salmon with the pin bones removed (in our case it is wild-caught Atlantic salmon that I froze when I brought it home from the grocery store and is currently defrosting in the fridge; not ideal to freeze it, but what are you going to do?) and poach it in a skillet.  (Place the salmon, skin side down, in the skillet and add enough water to come about 1/2 way up the side of the fish.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and turn the heat on to medium or medium high.  Once bubbles start forming along the edges, turn the heat down so it stays at a very light simmer, cover and let the salmon cook until it is mostly opaque and flakes easily.)  While the salmon is cooking, bring a pot of  salted water to a full boil and cook a pound of farfalle (bow-tie) pasta.  (I am using a whole wheat pasta this evening.)  When the pasta just reaches al dente status, toss in a bag of frozen peas and let them come up to temp (you will know they are done when they turn a bright green and start floating to the top of the water).  Drain the pasta and peas, returning them to the same pot (only if you dislike washing extra dishes like me; if you like to scrub things in the sink, then by all means, put the pasta and peas into another serving dish).  Add about a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of grated lemon zest (you could add the juice of the lemon as well if you would like), and season with freshly ground black pepper.  Once the salmon is done, flake it into large chunks (leave the skin behind) and toss into the pasta and pea mixture, stirring carefully to combine (but not break the salmon up too much).  Finally, add the herb of your choice, thinly sliced into a chiffonade (fancy, Frenchy term for "ribbons").  I usually use mint because it complements the peas and the fish and provides a really bright counterpoint for the sour citrus of the lemon. 

The great thing about this recipe is that you can add anything you like to it.  Prefer asparagus to peas?  No problem - add it instead!  Don't like mint?  Add some basil or parsley!  You'd like some spice with your fish?  Well, slice up a jalepeno or toss in some crushed red pepper!  Maybe you like extra protein with an Asian flair?  Heck, add some shelled edamame and season with soy, teriyaki or hoisin sauce!  Don't like salmon?  Oh.   Hmmmm....well, that's just your loss, friend, but add another kind of fish instead - tilapia and trout are actually great alternatives. 

I love these kind of recipes: easy and easy to make your own.  That is what I love about cooking - getting to make your food suit your tastes.  Make it fun, people!  Cook something awesome tonight!