Smoked Salmon Spaghetti

Hello everyone! I’m back after a month away from blogging.

Even though I haven’t been blogging for long, I just needed a bit of time off to look after myself before I came back with more recipes for all of you. As many of my readers with POTS would understand, it’s important we don’t take on too much and push our body too hard and overload.

I’m returning with one of my favourite creations –  smoked salmon pasta! This recipe is one I come back to time and time again. It’s perfect for when you need a hearty meal that will leave you feeling full and content  – and with that ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling that food can sometimes give you (I know that sounds strange but I’m sure lots of you have felt it too – or maybe I am just losing my mind!).

Benefits of Salmon

Salmon is a great source of vitamin D (which a lot of us are low in), rich in omega-3 fatty acids (which is good for your heart) and is rich in other minerals such as iron, calcium and selenium. It also tastes great!

Servings:  2

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons of capers (I personally always put more in because I LOVE capers)
• 2 teaspoons garlic oil (or 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic)
• 2 teaspoons basil oil
• 1 head of broccoli (chopped)
• Spaghetti (enough for two people) (long stranded spaghetti works best)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ cup parmesan cheese (crushed)
• 100g smoked salmon (cut up into strips) (*you can use actual salmon – see note below)
• 160g fresh spinach (frozen spinach works just as well, you just need to make sure it is completely defrosted before you put into the pan)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Method:

Step 1: Chop the broccoli into pieces.

Step 2: Boil water and cook the pasta. A few minutes before the pasta is cooked, place the broccoli into the pan to cook (putting them into the same pan means one less thing to wash up!).

Step 3: Pour the garlic oil into the saucepan over low heat. Note – if you are using crushed garlic instead, put normal oil into the pan together with the garlic and cook until the garlic is golden.

Step 4: Drain the pasta and broccoli in a sieve over the sink. Pour the pasta and broccoli into the saucepan and mix around the garlic oil.

Step 5: Pour the basil oil over the pasta mixture. If you don’t have basil oil, you can use a teaspoon of normal oil and a pinch of basil. Mix through thoroughly.

Step 6: Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to the mixture. Stir through thoroughly with tongs.

Step 7: Add the parmesan cheese to the pan and mix through the pasta using tongs, allowing the cheese to melt into the pasta mixture. This Step is completed once the cheese has melted through.

Step 8: Add the spinach. Adding the spinach at this stage stops it wilting too much and allows it to stay somewhat crispy (if you are using fresh not frozen spinach).

Step 9: Taste test. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Step 10: Place the spaghetti into two bowls with the smoked salmon on top. Be careful –  if you put the salmon on any earlier, the heat from the spaghetti will cook it. Once the mixture and salmon is in the bowls add the capers on top.

Step 1: Chop broccoli.

Step 3: Pour in the garlic oil.

Step 5: Pour the basil oil over the mixture.

Step 10: Place spaghetti mixture into a bowl and add the salmon and capers.

Alternative option

You can use salmon steaks instead of smoked salmon if you prefer. If you choose this option, cook the salmon steak during Step 4. Once cooked break the steak into smaller pieces and stir it through the pasta mixture in Step 6 (this allows the flavours to be incorporated in before the cheese is added).

Smoked Salmon v Salmon Steaks

I personally really like both options and cook them both depending which ingredient I have on hand at the time. I will be honest though – the smoked salmon option takes less effort and if I am feeling quite fatigued or there aren’t many spoons left in my arsenal I will go the option that takes the least effort. In terms of taste they both bring about a slightly different flavour. The salmon steaks will definitely fill you up more though if that is going to be your deciding factor.

Overall though both are very easy to cook – give both a shot and let me know which one you prefer best.

Hope you enjoy one of my personal favourite home creations :).

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