Creamy Salmon & Pea Pasta

📝 Ingredients

• 320 g dried short pasta (penne, fusilli or small macaroni)
• 400 g skinless salmon fillet (4 fillets of about 100 g each)
• 250 g frozen peas
• 150 ml light single cream, 15% fat
• 80 g plain cream cheese
• 1 shallot (about 30 g)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 unwaxed lemon (zest + 1 tbsp juice)
• 10 g fresh chives
• 150 ml pasta cooking water (set aside before draining)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large saucepan
• Large sauté pan
• Colander
• Fine grater
• Chopping board and knife
• Wooden spoon

📖 Steps

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil (about 10 g of salt per litre). Meanwhile, run your finger over the salmon to find any bones and remove them, then cut it into cubes of about 2 cm.
2. Peel and finely chop the shallot. Zest the lemon with a fine grater, taking only the yellow part (the white pith is bitter), then squeeze out 1 tbsp of juice. Snip the chives and set everything aside.
3. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute less than the time on the packet. Add the frozen peas straight to the pan 4 minutes before the end: they cook along with the pasta.
4. When the pasta is halfway cooked, heat the oil in the sauté pan over a medium heat. Fry the shallot for 2 minutes until translucent but not browned. Add the salmon cubes and sear for 2 minutes, turning them gently: they should stay pink in the centre.
5. Reduce to a low heat. Pour in the cream, add the cream cheese and lemon zest, then stir gently until the cheese melts into a smooth sauce. Leave to simmer gently for 2 minutes, without boiling, so the salmon doesn't break up.
6. Before draining, scoop out 150 ml of the cooking water with a mug. Drain the pasta and peas in the colander, then tip them straight into the sauté pan with the sauce, still over a low heat.
7. Stir gently, adding the cooking water a little at a time, until the sauce is silky and coats the pasta well: the starch in the water binds it. Drizzle with the lemon juice, season lightly with salt, add pepper and taste.
8. Sprinkle with the chives and serve straight away on warm plates. For little ones, break up the large pieces of salmon with a fork and check one last time that no bones have slipped through.