Smoked Salmon w/ Pasta & Cream Cheese Sauce

Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Chef Michael Smith, host of Food Network’s Chef at Home and Chef Abroad.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing a few of Chef Michael’s recipes with you.  These are inspired by Prince Edward Island.  Today I’ll be sharing his recipe for Prince Edward Island Smoked Salmon with Pasta and Simple Dill Cream Cheese Sauce.

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Prince Edward Island Smoked Salmon with Pasta and Simple Dill Cream Cheese Sauce
Chef Michael Smith

This is one of the most popular dishes on my table.  Our friends love its bright, familiar flavours and we love how easy it is to make. You can toss steaming, wet, just cooked pasta with melting  cream cheese to form an incredibly smooth luxurious sauce. The smoked salmon adds extravagance balanced by other familiar flavours: dill, lemon, onion, mustard, and capers. A five star dish for sharing!

Serves four

• 1 lb penne or your favourite shaped pasta like bowties, long pastas like spaghetti don’t work as well
• 1 cup room temperature cream cheese
• 1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 heaping spoonful of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup capers
• 8 ounces smoked salmon, or more
• sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Season it liberally with salt until tastes like a day at the beach on Prince Edward Island. As the pasta cooks it will absorb the salted water and become properly seasoned. Cook al dente, until the pasta is cooked through but still pleasantly chewy.

Scoop out some of the starchy cooking water. Drain the pasta but not quite all the way. Leave it a bit wet. Toss the pasta back into the pot along with a splash or two of the reserved water, perhaps a half-cup or so in total then immediately add the rest of the ingredients. While the pasta is still steaming hot it will easily melt the cream cheese and form a rich creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!