Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta with Shrimp and Scallops

 Whenever I make this dish, there are always a few things I have to do. First of all, has to be a day in which I do not mind eating a bunch of delicious calories (CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Second, I have to invite the mom-in-law, she absolutely loves this dish and will damn me if she does not get any.

Smoked salmon is definitely one of my favorite things to use in the kitchen. From a great sushi roll to a beautiful smoked salmon bruschetta, this item can not go missing from my fridge. I always have it in stock because I truly do love it. When it comes to the brand, I really enjoy the one from whole foods, but everyone I know has their own favorite. For this recipe, which feeds 4, you will need 4 oz of smoked salmon.

Before we start making the sauce, we need to start prepping our ingredients. When cooking seafood,I really like to get the seafood from the market the same day I will cook it. So I stopped by the grocery store and picked up some shrimp and scallops. I washed them and drained well, after that,  I laid them on paper towels to make sure they were really dry before cooking.

About 1 hour before I wanted to serve dinner, I took the shrimp and scallops out of the fridge and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I brought a skillet to high heat, drizzled olive oil and seared them. The shrimp should take about 1-2 minutes per side and the scallops about the same. (Do not over crowd the pan, as they will steam and not sear.) Remove from heat and set aside, do not wash the pan.

*At this point, fill a large pot with water and set at medium high heat (this is for the pasta)

Next Step is to chop up some garlic, my family and I really like garlic, I mean reeeeeally like garlic so I use quite a bit, but for regular people, I recommend 3-4 cloves.

In the same skillet you seared the seafood, drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and bring to temp over medium high heat, after about 1-2 minutes, throw in your minced garlic and reduce heat to medium, let garlic cook just about 1 minute until fragrant, then pour in your cream. 

Next is to chop up your smoked salmon, mince it very finely, almost like a paste, add your salmon to the cream and whisk well to make sure everything is mixed.

Add about 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for sweetness. (The parmesan will act as the salt for this recipe.) Mix well, cover with lid, and keep heat at medium low.

We need to reduce and thicken the cream mixture, this should take about 15 minutes. Make sure you come by the pan and mix it every once in a while to make sure the mixture does not burn or stick to the bottom. 

Half way through the reducing process, salt your pasta water well (it should be boiling by now,) throw in your pasta ( I use either thin spaghetti or linguine fini for this recipe,) and follow cooking directions on package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain well.

After your sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (should be about the thickness of Nectar, not as watery as cream but not as thick as honey, depending on the heat temperature this will take more or less 10 minutes,) add your shrimp, scallops, cooked pasta and 2 tblsp of chopped parsley. Mix well together and serve. 

*Note: if the mixture is too thick, try adding a little pasta water. Always helps.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz smoked salmon, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 pint of heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 lbs of shrimp, large (skinless, deveined)
• 1/2 lbs of scallops (If you use bay scallops it is 1/2 lbs, if you use large U10 scallops it is 1 lbs)
• Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 1/2 lbs of pasta (noodles are really important in this recipe, I tried using another type of pasta once and it did not work well)
• Salt and pepper to taste

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do.