Pappardelle with creamy smoked salmon, caper and dill sauce

I am fortunate to have access to a lot of salmon because we fish so much in the summer. I always preserve some of our salmon by smoking it in a smoker that uses some heat. Then I vacuum pack and freeze some. Then some of it is lightly smoked and still soft and I can it in half-pint jars. Both types of smoked salmon have worked great in this recipe. The recipe calls for cold-smoked salmon, however, I have found my smoked salmon which is technically hot-smoked is also amazing in this dish.  So rest assured whatever type you find and buy at the store will be fine. However, if you use cold smoked then you will want to add the cold smoked salmon right at the end and just toss it with the pasta so it doesn’t cook through. You don’t need to worry about this as much with hot smoked salmon (and it’s also delicious).

I found this specific recipe many years ago on finecooking.com and I like to make it a couple of times every year and use up some of our smoked salmon.  I recently tried to google the recipe to make this dish and was surprised to find that  I could no longer access the recipe online. The URL was disabled. I was worried. I need more things to do with my smoked salmon than use it in dips, and charcuterie boards.

Fortunately, I found a copy that I had printed years ago. So I am going to share this decadent delicious recipe with you and make sure it is not lost or forgotten.

Yield: 4 servings.

Ingredients:

Kosher salt
8 to 9 ounces dried egg pappardelle
3 tablespoons  olive oil, divided use

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
8 ounces cold-smoked salmon, torn into 1- to 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1) Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain, and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2) Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add shallot, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add salmon and cook, gently stirring, until opaque, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring gently, until fragrant, about 20 seconds (salmon will begin to break up). Add wine and cook until evaporated about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and then cream and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in capers, 1 tablespoon chopped dill, and lemon zest. Add the pasta and toss to coat.
3) Serve garnished with the remaining dill and a few grinds of black pepper.

Enjoy Erica