Fettuccine With Asparagus and Smoked Salmon
Updated March 4, 2025
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
½ pound fresh asparagus, medium thickness
Salt
1 tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon minced shallots
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces smoked salmon sliced ¼-inch thick
Black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
9 to 10 ounces fresh fettuccine, preferably green
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
41 grams carbs; 131 milligrams cholesterol; 469 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 27 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 1 gram fiber; 509 milligrams sodium; 16 grams protein; 3 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Snap off the ends of the asparagus where they break naturally and peel the stalks. Cut the asparagus on a slant to pieces about an inch long.
- Step 2
Steam the asparagus until they are just barely tender and still bright green, about three minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain well on paper towels and set aside.
- Step 3
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
- Step 4
While the water is coming to a boil, melt the butter in a large heavy skillet. Add the shallots and saute until soft but not brown. Stir in the cream and simmer about five minutes, until the cream has thickened somewhat.
- Step 5
Cut the salmon into slivers, add it to the cream and remove the skillet from the heat. Season with pepper and lemon juice. Add the asparagus.
- Step 6
When the pot of water is boiling, add the fettuccine, stir it once or twice, then cook two to three minutes after the water has returned to a boil. Drain well.
- Step 7
Briefly reheat the sauce. Transfer the fettuccine to a warm serving bowl, pour the sauce over it and toss. Sprinkle with dill and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Spare yourself a dirty pan and add the asparagus to the pasta for the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking. In lieu of or in addition to dill, try spring onion and/or parsley. You can shave some calories with light cream vs heavy without compromising taste.
I've used Black ink linguine, canned smoked salmon and white mini asparagus. I've cooked asparagus in pan along with butter and shallots (saw a tv show once, where they recommended cooking asparagus in butter instead of boiling it in salted water, to get the most of its flavour), added a splash of white wine for extra flavour and luxurious taste.
The rest was as instructed in recipe, came out great!!!
(...Sorry for my bad English, It's not my mother tongue)
Due to dietary preferences, did not make a cream sauce at all, just a shallot- and- dill infused olive oil. Still fabulous. The flavors just marry beautifully, this is a versatile dish. Also blanched the asparagus in the pasta water.
I loved Tuna Helper as a kid; this is the grown up version of that (5 stars).
Love this recipe! It’s indulgent but so good during those few weeks when local asparagus is available. I make it with egg pasta for contrast between pink salmon and green asparagus.
Fantastic way to use up hot smoked salmon that was leftover from the NYT Everything Bagel Seasoning Smoked Salmon Dip! Instead of dill, I used tarragon I had on hand. The dish came together in no time. Really tasty!