Smoked Salmon Pasta

We started to smoke our very own salmon! More on that later. We organized two blind tasting and wine paring events and our salmon won both times, from five different tasters at each event, hands down! The credit goes to our friend David Shipman who handcrafted the salmon. Anyhow...we had left over salmon from the tastings-- of course not our salmon, but those that lost the tasting...commercial smoked salmon. Here is a quick recipe to make the most of that salmon that is not so great....I think great salmon is best enjoyed uncooked...Simple and plain.

This recipe is easy, quick (15 mins) and tastes and looks great. Here is what you need:

100 grams, or one package of smoked salmon
500 grams, or one box of pasta (I used tagliatelle)
4 table spoons of olive oil
2 table spoons of butter
1 finely chopped medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 table spoons of drained capers
4 ounces of cream cheese (approx. 6 table spoons)
2 cups of dry white wine
3 table spoons chopped parsley
1 table spoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the pasta according to directions on the box
Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat
add the olive oil
when the oil is hot, but not sizzling, add the butter
when the butter is hot add the chooped onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 3-5 mins.
Add the capers and cook for about a minute.
Add the wine and reduce by half
Add the cream cheese and mix it in until it melts
Add in the red pepper flakes and reduce heat as low as possible and simmer
When the pasta has cooked, add the chopped salmon into the sauce and cook for another minute or two....not too much!
Pour over the pasta
Garnish with fresh pasley and serve.

You can serve additional capers on the side. You can also skip the pasley and instead serve chopped pasley, dill and other garnishes (maybe lemon or orange zest) to the table and let your guests create their own variations.