Hot Smoked Chilli Salmon and Courgette Linguine

This is one of my favourite dinners. It’s full of flavour and so quick and easy to make. You can literally throw it together while your pasta is cooking.

It really is best to make sure you use the hot smoked salmon with chilli rather than regular salmon in this dish as the flavour is so much stronger and really lifts the dish. Make this once and I promise you it will become a favourite.

Serves 2

Ingredients

250g linguine

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 courgette

1 medium onion – diced

2 cloves garlic – minced

Salt and cracked black pepper to season

200g hot smoked salmon with chilli

125ml double cream

Tablespoon butter

Fresh grated parmesan (optional)

Method

Start by bringing a large pan of salted water to the boil, pop in your linguine and set a timer according to your pasta cooking instructions. Keep an eye on it and give it a stir every now and then as you don’t want it to stick together.

Meanwhile, dice your onions and chop your courgette into round slices. I do my courgette slices just under a cm thickness and then I cut the round slices into half.

Place your olive oil in a separate large pan and pan fry your onions and courgettes along with your minced garlic, chilli flakes and a good grind of salt and cracked black pepper.

Once softened add your hot smoked chilli salmon and the cream and simmer gently.

By now your pasta should be just about ready. I always have a little taste just before the end of cooking time to check that it’s al dente as you want the pasta to have a nice bite to it. Once it’s cooked, drain in a colander giving it a light shake or two. It’s good not to over drain the linguine as a small amount of water left on it is a good thing.

Once drained I immediately swirl in a teaspoon or so of butter or olive oil to prevent it from sticking. Transfer your pasta to your pan and stir gently to combine with all the delicious ingredients.

Tip: We like ours served with a grating of fresh parmesan but this is a matter of opinion in Italian fish dishes so I’ll leave that for you to decide.