Salmon And Asparagus Fusillli

SALMON And ASPARAGUS FUSILLI

Fresh asparagus and dill are classic matches for salmon. A light white wine cream sauce lets the salmon shine in this simple yet elegant pasta. If you don’t have left over grilled lemons, squeeze fresh lemon overtop.
Ingredients:
10 oz fusilli or other pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 large shallots or 1 onion, thinly sliced
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup 35% cream
⅓ of the recipe Maple Lemon Grilled Salmon, broken 
   broken into chunks  Posted 8/11/2019
2 tbs chopped fresh dill, divided, approx.
4 leftover grilled lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil and butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add shallot and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until so . Add asparagus, garlic, ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for about 2 minutes or until asparagus is bright green.

3. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring. Pour in cream and return to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring often, for about 3 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced and asparagus is tender-crisp. Reduce heat to low.

4. Drain pasta and add to skillet, stirring gently to coat. Add salmon and 1 tbsp dill and fold gently just to coat with sauce and slightly warm salmon (trying not to break up pieces of fish too much). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Serve in warmed bowls, sprinkled with more dill, to taste, and with grilled lemon wedges to squeeze overtop.

Serves 4

Maple Grilled Salmon

Maple Grilled Salmon

They say salmon makes you smarter—you’ll definitely feel smarter when you grill up a delicious dinner and prep two more meals at the same time! This one is so easy, and fancy enough for company, that you might even want to host a party just to have the excuse to serve it (and have leftovers). Grilling on foil is the easiest way to get a large fish on and off the grill and avoid flare-ups, especially with this sweet marinade. As well, the skin sticks to the foil, letting you slide a spatula between the skin and the fish to lift the fish off with ease. Substitute steelhead trout if you like, using two sides of trout in place of the salmon, or sub 2 smaller sides of salmon if you can’t find a large one.

Ingredients:
3 lemons
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
Freshly ground pepper
1 large side of salmon, about 3 lbs , skin on (see TIP)
Canola oil
Salt


Directions:

1. Finely grate the zest from 1 lemon into a large shallow dish. Squeeze juice from half of that lemon, about 2 tbsp, and add to the dish. Reserve remaining lemon half.

2. Add maple syrup to lemon mixture and season with pepper. Stir well to combine.

3. Rinse fish in cool water and pat dry with paper towel. Place in syrup mixture with the flesh-side down, swishing to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 1 day, swishing to redistribute marinade periodically if possible.

4. Preheat barbecue grill to medium-high, about 400°F.

5. Cut remaining 2 whole lemons into quarters lengthwise, and cut remaining lemon half in half. Brush lemons with oil and season lightly with salt.

6. Place a large sheet of foil on a baking sheet and place salmon on the foil with the skin-side down. Reserve marinade in dish. Season salmon with salt.

7. Grill lemons, turning lemon to brown all sides, for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set aside.

8. Lift foil with salmon from the baking sheet onto the grill and drizzle generously with some of reserved marinade (discard the rest of the marinade). Using the tip of a knife, poke several small holes in the foil around the salmon to allow juices to run out. Cover with lid and grill salmon for about 10 minutes per inch (2.5 cm) of thickness, or until slightly pink in the thickest part, or to desired doneness.

9. Reserve about one-third of the cooked salmon and 4 of the grilled lemon wedges for Salmon and Asparagus Fusilli (recipe follows) and one-third of the salmon for Fish Tacos with Pineapple Slaw (recipe follows) or the Quick Ideas.

10. Serve remaining hot salmon with grilled lemon wedges to squeeze overtop.

11. Let left overs cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Serves 4 with leftovers for 2 recipes

TIP If the salmon doesn’t have skin, cut a piece of parchment just slightly smaller than the salmon and place it between the foil and the salmon to make the salmon easier to lift off the foil for serving.

Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto Potato Salad

Ingredients
Basil Pesto:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan 
1 tsp. salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Serves 8.

*

Salad:
1 pound fusilli pasta
1 red bell pepper, roasted and cut
    into thin strips
1 (2.2 ounce) can sliced black olives,
   drained
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1 to 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

*

Directions:

1. Turn on the food processor and drop in garlic cloves processing until minced. Stop machine and add the basil, parsley, pine nuts, Parmesan, and salt. Pulse to finely chop. With machine running add enough olive oil and process to make a thick paste.

*

2 .Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until it is just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to cool. Toss pasta with red pepper strips, olives and pine nuts.

*

3. Stir pesto into 1 cup mayonnaise and gently stir that into the pasta salad. Toss to combine well, adding more mayonnaise as needed to make a moist mixture. Chill until ready to serve. Add more mayonnaise just before serving, if necessary. 

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara

Today we mark "The Ides Of March", the day Julius Caesar was assassinated and The Roman Empire became the Roman Republic in the year 44 B.C.   I am posting a dish typical of a Roman dinner.  The first time I enjoyed Pasta Carbonara, our son-in-law from Italy served it to our family.  It was so delicious. I thought you might enjoy it also!  Celebrate!

***

Ingredients:

RAGU
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped celery
¼ cup finely chopped carrot
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
12 oz ground dark-meat chicken
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 branch Italian parsley
Pinch dry thyme
2 tbsp white wine
¾ cup chicken stock

TO FINISH
2 tbsp olive oil
⅔ cup diced bacon or pancetta
4 egg yolks
2 oz grated Pecorino Romano cheese
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb fusilli pasta

*

Directions:

1 Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add celery, carrot and red onion and sauté gently for 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft and lightly browned. Turn heat to medium-high, add chicken. Press chicken with the back of a fork, separating morsels well. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add bay leaf, parsley branch and thyme and cook for 3 minutes, stirring, or until chicken is lightly browned.

2 Add white wine and cook for 2 minutes or until wine has almost completely evaporated. Add ½ cup chicken stock and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, adding more stock as needed, until chicken is cooked through and still slightly saucy. Discard bay leaf and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve.

3 Heat oil in a separate frying pan over medium-low heat. Add bacon and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon and blot on paper towels. Reserve.

4 Combine egg yolks, Pecorino, bacon, parsley and pepper in a large bowl and set aside.

5 Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving about ½ cup of the cooking water. (Pasta water gives substance to sauces, making them a little creamier. It’s a good addition to most pasta dishes.)

6 Combine ¼ cup of the cooking water with egg yolk mixture and quickly toss with the hot pasta, stirring to coat. If necessary, add more cooking water to make the sauce even more creamy. Add reserved ragu, toss and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4