Pasta with smoked salmon and creme fraiche

'Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.'

There are two types of pasta, dried or fresh. Fresh pasta is usually made with egg and will keep for a few days only. Dried pasta may not contain egg and can keep for many months. Both are made from a particular type of flour, either Durum Wheat or Durum Semolina.

I think the key to successfully cooking pasta is plenty of boiling salted water, it has been said that pasta should boil in water as plentiful and salty as the Mediterranean!

Pasta is a great basis for a meal. Simple and easy to cook, it provides a staple for those quick meals when time is tight or when you want a simple but tasty meal for friends, which doesn’t involve a lot of preparation or cooking.

This recipe has proved very useful in both contexts.

PASTA WITH CRÈME FRAICHE AND SMOKED SALMON

Ingredients;

• Sufficient pasta for the number of portions required; for these recipes I prefer Fusilli, Tagliatelle or Pennette.
• Tub of crème fraiche
• Smoked salmon – either the cut leaves or perhaps the packs of trimmings, which can be bought at most supermarkets (depends who you’re feeding or your budget)
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Put plenty of water on to boil in a large saucepan,

When it’s at a good rolling boil, add salt – about 2tsp per litre is kind of Mediterranean salty! Then add the pasta, stirring once or twice and cook until ‘al dente’. This means ‘to the tooth’, when you bite it there is still just the slightest resistance, it shouldn’t be soft and mushy.

Strain the pasta and return it to the saucepan.

Add the smoked salmon; break into small pieces as you add it to the pasta if not using the trimmings; stir gently through the pasta.

Add the Crème fraiche and again stir gently through the pasta and salmon until all is thoroughly mixed. A standard tub is plenty for two people, it gives a nice creamy sauce for the pasta.

Return the saucepan to a low heat for a few moments, gently stirring to avoid the pasta catching on the bottom of the pan and burning, just to ensure it is heated through

Serve in warmed bowls with fresh crusty bread and some fresh ground black pepper to add as you or your guests please.

Enjoy!