Thinking Spring with Pasta, Peas and Smoked Salmon

Happy Anniversary to Ruth at Presto Pasta Nights for three years of celebrating the glories of our elbow macaroni, rotini, lasagne, pierogies, glass noodles, bow-ties and all the other shapes, sizes and types of pasta. This week Ruth is rounding up what might be a record-breaking number of pasta entries from cooks around the globe and I had to come up with a recipe to offer to the celebration.

I was honored to host Pasta Presto Nights #130 last September and have sent in some pasta entries to various other editions of this fun weekly event. Each Friday Ruth or a guest host rounds up the pastas and we all get a carbo-loaded feast for the eyes.

For my contribution to the party, I wanted to augur in Spring (actually Season #5, Mud Season, in these parts) with a delicately spiced and colored pasta. Some leftover smoked salmon was the inspiration for this pasta dish. We really like sushi in this house and we make it at least a couple of times a month in our kitchen.

Youngest daughter is the Sushi Chef: she has the best rolling techniques and the most patience for cutting cucumbers and carrots into thin sticks for the sushi innards. We like making smoked salmon and cream cheese sushi rolls, and for this I buy packages of smoked salmon trimmed from the more expensive Nova packages in the smoked fish section of the supermarket's fish counter. A one pound bag will give us at least two sushi dinner platters, leaving the more sinewy, chewy bits of smoked salmon for grinding up in the food processor with cream cheese for an appetizer spread or for schmearing our breadstuffs.

This last time we had leftover smoked salmon bits I thought about chopping them up and sauteeing them in a butter and wine sauce for pasta and the resulting creation was well-received by the Crispy Crew. Here then is my recipe for the Presto Pasta Nights Anniversary Party:


Rotini with Smoked Salmon and Peas

1 lb. pasta, cooked and drained (we used Pasta d'Oro corn rotini)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup white wine
4 Tbsp. butter
1 cup smoked salmon, broken up into chunks or chopped coarsely
2 Tbsp. snipped dill (we used garden dill from our freezer)

Melt butter in large heavy skillet. When it starts to foam, pour in wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.

Add smoked salmon and peas and saute until salmon turns light pink and firm. Sprinkle with dill and serve hot.

Serves 6.

Congratulations again Ruth for 3 wonderful years of Presto Pasta Nights. Looking forward to the roundup party!