Smoked Salmon Spiral Pasta with Blue Cheese and Steamed Eggs

Pasta Express

One thing I love about pasta is that it is very quick and easy to cook no matter how you cook it (as long as it’s al dente). I’m not a big fan of whole-wheat spiral pasta but since it was the only kind of pasta that I had in the kitchen the other day, I had to improvise a simple pasta dish from what I had available in the fridge. The strong texture and taste of whole-wheat pasta (thick ones, like the spiral pasta), in my opinion, can be easily masked with an equally strong flavor sauce such as blue cheese sauce. It only took me 15 minutes (quick by my standard) to prepare this dish, including boiling the pasta. This dish was quick, easy and satisfying.

Ingredients:

1) 2 Green Onions
2) Salt, black and white pepper, Mrs. Dash, paprika
3) Cayenne pepper (optional)
4) Blue Cheese
5) Pacific Northwest Smoked Salmon fillet
6) Olive Oil
7) Capers
8) 1 cube frozen dill or fresh dill
9) Whole Wheat Spiral Pasta

Direction:

Drain pasta and set aside. Heat oil on medium heat. Stir in green onions, salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, paprika and cayenne pepper and sauté for a few seconds. Add the smoked salmon fillet, divide into chunks and sauté for a minute or until salmon is warm and then remove from the pan and set aside. Add olive oil to the same pan and put the pasta in. Add salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, paprika and cayenne pepper to taste. Add the cubed dill and Blue Cheese and mix until most of the Blue Cheese melts (with a few small crumbs left behind). Turn off heat and add capers and mix. Add the mixture to the salmon and mix. Can be served warm or cold.

Steamed Eggs with Smoked Salmon

My mom used to cook steamed eggs dish as a last resort - whenever the supplies of fresh ingredients had run out by the end of the week and she had not gone to the market to resupply. It’s basically scrambled eggs, mixed with a few drops of water, salt and white pepper and then steamed. I was just trying to be creative with this dish by adding chunks of smoked salmon fillet, green onions and red-hot chili pepper. But I think mine was a little bit dryer than the ones I used to have. It wasn’t bad though, but it wasn’t great either. I think it would’ve been better without the extra ingredients in it; it would’ve been better to stick with the tried and true, simple but original recipe.

Ingredients:

1) 3 eggs
2) Green Onions
3) Salt, black and white pepper, paprika
4) 2 small red hot chili peppers (optional)
5) Pacific Northwest Smoked Salmon fillet
6) 1 tbsp. water

Direction:

Beat eggs, green onions, peppers, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix in chunks of smoked salmon and water. Put the bowl on a steamer stand inside a big enough pot with 2 cups of water. Cover and let the water boil and the egg is cooked.