DJ VJs creamy mushroom and smoked salmon pasta

Pasta is epic, especially in Italy, but we can’t always go there for bloody good pasta, so let’s just whip one up at home.

I would eat this every day if I could, and you could too because its so delicious and a quick and easy to whip up! Unfortunately, I don’t work out near enough to deserve it that often, so for now it’s nice to enjoy as a treat. Its exception lies in its simplicity, like many other delicious Italian pastas...

Difficulty = Easy
Time = 15–20 mins
Size = 2 large portions

Mmmmmmm…..

Jump into the kitchen and get a pot of water boiling to start cooking now. I am a believer of using what's in the cupboard and fridge, so feel free to substitute similar ingredients to use up what's already in your kitchen.

Ingredients and utensils

• Utensils: Sharp Knife, Chopping Board, Colander, Pot, Pan, Spatula and Tongs or a large fork.
• Pasta for two (Spaghetti/Tagliatelle/Linguine)
• 1 Small Onion, Diced (I use white, but red works)
• 1–2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed/mashed with salt using the side of a heavy knife (or just dice it)
• 10 small mushrooms, sliced (just over half a tub in the UK)
• 30 ml of any white wine (optional — still good without it)
• 150–200 ml single cream (or double for extra flavour)
• 50–100 grams of smoked salmon cut into small pieces
• Olive Oil (a decent pour into the boiling water, and into the pan)
• 2-3 teaspoons of salt (into the boiling water for cooking the pasta)
• Handful of finely diced chives, and a little fresh parsley, (add dill for extra freshness!)
• Some salad, Parmesan cheese and ciabatta and garlic butter(recipe coming!) to serve with

Let's go!

• Fill up a pot with water, add 2–3 teaspoons of salt, two tablespoons of olive oil and put it on the element, high heat and lid on
• Turn on the second element, get the fry pan on (3/4 heat), then add a good splash (3–4 tablespoons) of olive oil
• Finely dice the onion then drop into the pan before the olive oil starts smoking, add a pinch of salt after a minute or two to help soften
• Add spaghetti to the boiling water and stir every minute or two, don’t let it overflow! (refer to back of packet for cooking time — al dente!)
• Skin your garlic cloves, then crush them on the chopping board with a fat pinch of salt to help grind and season them down. Add to the fry pan with the onions when the onions are soft
• About a minute after adding the garlic, add the wine to the pan and watch it sizzle
• Drop the mushrooms into the pan when the wine has almost evaporated and toss for a minute
• Add all the cream to pan and turn down the heat down to 1/4
• When the pasta is just about al dente or right on the time, remove from the heat and drain it into a colander, keeping half a cup of the pasta water to the side
• Use a fork or tongs to keep lifting and stirring the pasta in the colander, letting the steam breathe out. Do this until it starts to get a little sticky
• Add the pasta to the pan with the cream and mix though, turn off the heat
• Add smoked salmon, all the fresh herbs and cracked pepper to the dish and fold everything through until all nicely mixed together
• If needed, add some extra pasta water and stir through to make it more saucy (this works well if double cream is used)
• Throw some spinach or rocket leaves into serving bowls (or make a side salad)
• Remove pasta from the pan and serve

BOOM! Creamy mushroom and smoked salmon spaghetti (or Spaghetti cremosi di funghi e salmone affumicato in italian!)

Hope this worked out for you, please let me know how you got on, as I would love to hear from ya!

VJ