Salmon and Asparagus Pasta

By gstark

Adapted from a recipe by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza at Serious Eats. This is a variation on carbonara, using the heat of the pasta to gently cook the liaison of eggs and cheese into a delicate custardy sauce. Cascarecce is a scroll-shaped pasta, perfect for a thick sauce like this, if you can find it.

Ingredients

• ¼ lb cooked salmon (poached, roasted, grilled, etc) or ¼ lb cooked arctic char (poached, roasted, grilled, etc)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ small yellow onion , thinly sliced
• ½ bunch thin asparagus spear , cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 ½ eggs , beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk or 1 tablespoon cream
• 1⁄8; cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• ½ lb penne or ½ lb gemelli pasta or ½ lb casarecce pasta
• ½ to taste coarse salt
• ½ to taste fresh ground black pepper

Details

Servings 2
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 30mins
Adapted from food.com

Preparation

Step 1

Directions:

1 Flake the fish with a fork or your fingers and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.

2 Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sweat them for about 2 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add the asparagus and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until the asparagus is just tender.

3 Whisk the eggs, milk and cheese together in a large mixing bowl. Set the bowl next to the sink to access immediately after draining the pasta.

4 Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook to al dente. Drain, shake firmly 2 or 3 times to eliminate excess water, and immediately transfer to the mixing bowl with the egg mixture. Toss constantly for 30 seconds or so, coating all of the pasta with the sauce as it thickens. Add the asparagus and onions and toss to combine. Gently fold in the flakes of fish.

5 Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano, if you like.