Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Linguine with Smoked Salmon in Sherry Cream Sauce


The Fish Market, a quite serviceable Arizona/California seafood restaurant/seafood retail store chain, makes a made-to-order creamy deliciousness of a dish called Pasta Con Nova I often find myself craving.

I really can't recall what they put in it, nor were my Googling attempts fruitful. I even resorted to calling my local Fish Market and talking to the girl who answered the phone about what is in the pasta. After 5 brain-damaging minutes of my life wasted talking to her, I decided to improvise.

I have no idea if this even vaguely resembles the Fish Market's Pasta Con Nova, but it's great and can be made in less than 20 minutes with ingredients from the fridge/pantry.

Pasta Con Nova (Linguine with Smoked Salmon in a Sherry Cream Sauce):
(serves 6-8)

1 lb dried linguine
8 oz high-quality smoked Alaskan salmon
2 c half and half (can use cream)
1/2 c sherry
1 shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt the water (salty like the sea). Boil linguine 8-9 minutes or until almost al dente. It won't be quite done.

Meanwhile, saute shallots and garlic in olive oil in a saute pan. Add sherry and simmer until reduced by at least half and liquid has turned golden brown and thickened slightly. Add half/half and bring back to a simmer.

Drain pasta, reserving at least 1/4 c of the cooking water. Add the pasta and cooking water to saute pan, toss and continue to simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Add parsley and salmon, salt and pepper to taste and toss, heating salmon and absorbing liquid into pasta. Serve immediately once pasta has absorbed enough liquid.

12 comments:

Lis said...

Is it normal to crave this dish at 5:20 in the morning? I thought so.

xoxo

Peabody said...

Oh I love the Fish Market(you mean the one on Camelback, right?). It seems soooo long since I have been there(sigh). Your pasta looks wonderful.

Patricia Scarpin said...

This pasta dish is superb - I love anything creamy. ;)

Anonymous said...

I was flipping through some foodie magazines at Barnes & Noble recently and was intrigued by a recipe somewhat similar to this, I am happy to come across yours, I will definitely be trying it soon!

Anonymous said...

I want a fish market close by! Probably not to many of those in Kansas.

Freya said...

Simple and delicious! The best kind of meal! Looks beautiful!

Kirsten said...

Hi Lis! Yes, I actually would rather eat food like this for breakfast than eggs. :)

Peabody - yes, that's the one! If you ever head back to Phx, we can go.

Thanks Patricia, Kristen and Freya & Paul. :)

Hope you try it Laurie - and hope it's good.

Thanks all for the comments - I had good leftovers at work for a few days after this, so I can say it re-heats well. It does smell up the break room a bit, however, with the smoked salmon and all.

Anonymous said...

Exactly what I was looking for - glad you saved me time Kirsten. I love this at lunch time @ Fish Market Santa Clara.

The picture looks just like it and I will try today.

Jay in Cali

Sharon in Santa Cruz said...

I have sat at the oyster bar at the Fish Market in Santa Clara and had this delicious dish. But my favorite dish is the Cioppino with a side of Cheesy Garlic Bread and a platter of Oysters Rockefeller to share, and Watching Sergio cook it up right before my eyes. It's been about 2 years since I was there last, and Sergio was no longer working the oyster bar. I think they said he was tending bar there now. It was still incredible. I wish I was there right now!

TimD said...

Yep, it's been years Since I had this at The Fish Market Santa Clara. But it is forever etched into my palate. I would have thought they'd thrown in parmesan but I held back and it tasted great. I wish I knew what cooking with (brand)they used. My salmon want smoked, I just cured it with salt and sugar I while back. Pretty easy, maybe I should have put a drop of liquid smoke in as well.

Anonymous said...

Hello Kirsten. I had the pasta con nova at the fish market in San Diego and loved it. I think the restaurant in San Diego added some chopped tomatoes to the dish and topped it off with Parma cheese.

Anonymous said...

Cannot wait to make this…used to order this all the time at La Boulangerie in NYC before it closed.