So last Saturday at Costco we bought two 8-ounce packages of wild-caught smoked salmon for our Sunday morning bagels. I’d also picked up some of the frozen good-for-you toaster waffles. Sunday morning came…Bill asked about the bagels. But I found myself ravenous for the waffles-without-work. They were delicious.
Which left eight ounces of beautiful smoked salmon that needed recognition.
Had a notion. We eat a lot of pasta and I looked through my books. Nobody mentioned pasta with smoked salmon. It was up to Me. Okay. I can do that…
There are three of us—however one of us (grandson) has a gargantuan appetite…Bill has a healthy-for-96-year-old appetite…I eat like a bird…so it works when I cook for four.
My Linguine with Smoked Salmon was yummy. (I let the Essentials of Smoked Salmon on a Bagel be my guide.) I added mozzarella because I had it on hand–and pasta needs its cheese, right?
Details: Of all the pasta shapes, I chose to use linguine because I love its spaghetti length with fuller body. Spaghetti is flat, linguine (“little tongues”) is described as elliptical…ovalish…which makes the surface better than spaghetti at caressing light sauces. Reading about linguine I was very happy—almost smug—to read that in Liguria, its origins, linguine is particularly paired with seafood.
I was lucky in my choice…
The mozzarella I used was fresh in soft small balls—close to burrata in texture (very very light, almost fluffy). Do choose fresh—water-packed—mozzarella, any shape…it may come in small plum sizes, a smallish sliced log, or even a large ball. As it’s going to be cut into bite-size morsels, the only essential is that the cheese arrives in water.
The other elements of the dish are capers and a fresh firm tomato–what you’d routinely place on your smoked salmon-topped bagel. The sauce I made is light—just thickened chicken broth. (I found myself reverting to making the sauce with a quickly-put-together beurre manié. Such an easy chef’s trick–soft butter blended with equal part flour so that when it’s whisked into a hot liquid, the flour is already dispersed so THERE ARE NO LUMPS.)
Oh, and at the last I picked up the jar of Trader Joe’s Ground Fermented Black Garlic I hadn’t yet opened–finished the dish with black sprinkles over the top–delicious and interesting.
An added advantage to this pasta is the ingredients and method of composing are so simple, you could create this dish on a week-end getaway without the recipe. (I realize the recipe seems detailed, but it’s just so these ineffable ingredients are given their due..)
It’s an easy last-minute composition–and forgive me for the chutzpah, but this pretty dish is fun to make.
Sunday Night’s Linguine with Smoked Salmon and Fresh Mozzarella
(3 to 4 Servings—recipe may easily be doubled)
8 ounces linguine (half the package), Italian for preference
2 teaspoons salt
8 ounces best smoked salmon (packaged in thin slices)
8 ounces fresh mozzarella (packed in water)
1 to 2 large fresh firm tomato(es)
¼ cup drained capers
A light sprinkling of Trader Joe’s Ground Fermented Black Garlic*–if you’re lucky and have it, but not essential
Few turns of freshly ground pepper (white, for preference)
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon soft butter, unsalted for preference
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup best chicken broth (light on salt)
~In your pasta pot, bring a generous 3 quarts cold water with 2 teaspoons salt to the boil. Reduce heat so the water just simmers, then cover…now it’ll be ready when you need it.
~Meanwhile, working one by one–each sheet of smoked salmon–loosely roll up lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to slice across the log every quarter-inch. Drop the furls into a large shallow bowl, unfurling as you go. If you do this up to an hour ahead, keep the bowl covered in a cool place (not the fridge).
~About 20 minutes before planning to serve, pat mozzarella dry and cut into bite-size (one inch-ish) pieces, add to the salmon. Very gently mix pieces. Cover.
~Cut the garnishing tomato into bite-size pieces. You’ll want about 1 overflowing cupful. Cover and set aside.
~For the sauce, prepare beurre manié ** by thoroughly blending equal measures soft butter and flour in a small bowl (use a fork or small whisk) then pressing into a ball for easy use.**
In a smallish saucepan over medium heat bring the broth to a simmer…drop in the beurre manié and whisk till butter-and-flour are thoroughly blended in and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and taste for salt and pepper—not too much salt, consider the salmon’s saltiness. Cover.
~ About 20 minutes before planning to serve, bring the pasta water to a boil. Keeping the heat high, drop in the linguine and stir till every piece is submerged and pieces are separate. (Bring strokes of a cooking spoon or fork down across the bottom to keep pieces from sticking.) Set the timer for 10 minutes; stir every few minutes. When the timer rings, taste a piece. Another minute or two? When the texture you like, drain, then return pasta to the empty pot and cover to keep hot.
To serve, heat the sauce if necessary, then pour over the linguine. Toss to coat the pasta thoroughly. Turn into a three-quart wide deepish serving bowl, add the salmon and mozzarella, capers, and black speckles of garlic (if available—but no biggie, if not). Gently but thoroughly use a large fork and spoon to mix. Top with the tomatoes and rush to the table.
*Yes, Amazon has it. Pieces are teeny and black and tasty…
**French cuisine’s shortcut to thickening a sauce—easy and never a lump. Incidentally,wrapped airtight and refrigerated, it’s said beurre manié will keep one month…I’ve never been able to keep from using it (to thicken a soup or sauce with no lumps) so I can’t attest to that. Once you get used to having this magic trick on hand—just break off pieces and drop into simmering whatever—you’re likely always to have it.
