Creamy Pasta With Smoked Salmon, Arugula and Lemon

By Amanda Hesser

Updated January 30, 2018

  • Craig Lee for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(1,238)
Comments
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One selling point of smoked salmon is that you don't need to do much to it to get it on the table. Fold it on top of toast and dab it with sour cream and you have the lazy man's cocktail party. But take the salmon one or two steps further and you break out of the cliché. Salmon's buttery fat and smoke serve as useful flavoring elements. In this easy 15-minute meal, it's chopped up and used as a counterweight in pasta tossed with full-fat Greek yogurt, arugula, fresh dill, lemon zest and juice. It is, at once, lively and comforting.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4

  • Salt

  • ¾ pound casarecci, gemelli or gigli pasta

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt

  • ½ pound smoked salmon, cut into bite-size pieces

  • 1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped

  • Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon (or a regular lemon)

  • 2 cups packed arugula

  • 1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh dill

  • Coarsely ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

68 grams carbs; 23 milligrams cholesterol; 454 calories; 1 gram monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 558 milligrams sodium; 27 grams protein; 5 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

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salty water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta. While it cooks, combine in a large serving bowl the yogurt, salmon, garlic, lemon zest and juice, arugula and dill. Just before the pasta is finished cooking, scoop out ½ cup pasta water and reserve.

  2. Step 2

    Drain the pasta and slide it into the bowl. Using two spoons, toss the pasta and sauce as you would a salad. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water. Season to taste with salt and grind a generous amount of pepper on top.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,238 user ratings
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Comments

Bob Betke

Or maybe try the arugula with he correct amount of the other ingredients. I have to say I never understand the desire to try a recipe on the first try and then start making changes and major substitutions and then say it didn’t work. How about trying it the way the recipe is written and then deciding if you like it or not. Your name is listed as K Wagner not Julia Child. Sorry just my opinion for what it’s worth.

Jody

Is this recipe calling for smoked salmon as in "lox" or a filet of salmon that has been smoked and usually thicker?

Carson

This is really good! I will say - no need to realllllyyyyy pack the arugula. I packed as much as I could into each cup and upset the balance a bit. Of course, the finer the chop of garlic the better. This is definitely a delicious recipe, especially as we wish for spring to come along...

K

Cooked as written. Well almost - I halved the recipe, used fusilli, added asparagus and sprinkled with grated parm. Quick, easy and delicious! Already thinking of variations - perhaps sub in canned smoked salmon. Maybe shred the smoked chicken in my freezer instead of salmon. Perhaps leftover brisket or pork. The smoke seems essential. I’ll be playing with this recipe for awhile.

sharon in SF area

I had all the ingredients on hand but did not measure out anything because I was very short on time, other than reducing everything for just me, not 4 people. Nothing went wrong or bad, but the flavors weren't popping, especially the hot-smoked-salmon. It was fun to eat, nevertheless, because it gave me something to do with my best-by-today date on that salmon. But I will try again keeping the proportions more to the recipe and in line with comments.

epmolander

Excellent made with our home cured gravlax.

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