Pasta Alla Salmone

5 from 4 votes

Pasta Alla Salmone is a quick, easy, and incredibly flavorful dish. Penne pasta and salmon are tossed in a rich and decadent cream sauce; made with shallots, white wine, and heavy cream. Penne alla salmon comes together in under 30 minutes, making it a perfect afternoon or weeknight meal.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: dinner, Gluten Free

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings:

Calories: 336kcal

Author: Nadia

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoon Butter
1 Shallot minced
2 cloves Garlic minced
1 teaspoon Thyme fresh
1 teaspoon Gluten-Free Flour
¾ cup White Wine
1 cup Half & Half
½ teaspoon Sea Salt adjust to taste
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
6 oz Penne Pasta gluten-free
8 oz Wild Salmon
¾ cup Parmesan Cheese grated
1 teaspoon Fresh Basil
Lemon Juice to taste

Instructions

Prepare Your Salmon: If you don’t have cooked salmon on hand, you can quickly grill salmon by using my Traeger Grilled Salmon recipe. You can also cook a filet in the oven.
Cook The Pasta: In a large stock pot, bring salted water to a boil then add the pasta. Cook the penne pasta according to package instructions, until al dente. Once the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of salted pasta water, then drain the remaining water and set the pasta aside.
Prepare The Sauce: While cooking the noodles, begin to prepare your sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add the shallots and cook for 5-7 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Be sure to stir consistently so the garlic doesn’t burn.
Make The Roux: Sprinkle in the gluten-free flour and cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, while stirring. Pour in the wine and bring it to a low boil over medium-high heat. Continue stirring. Allow the mixture to cook until the wine reduces by half.
Make The Cream Sauce: Reduce the heat to low and gently pour in the half & half, then add the salt and pepper. Allow the sauce to cook on low heat for 3-5 minutes while stirring.
Add The Salmon: Once the sauce starts to thicken, gently fold in the flaked salmon.
Toss And Combine: Once the pasta is al dente, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, and then drain the pasta; add it directly to the cream sauce along with the parmesan cheese. Gently toss the cooked noodles in the salmon cream sauce, until everything is combined. If your sauce is too thick, add a little bit of the reserved pasta water until you achieve your desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Finish And Serve: Top the Pasta Alla Salmon with fresh basil and more freshly grated parmesan cheese (if you choose), along with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Notes

Expert Tips And Notes

- Reserve The Pasta Water: You will want to be sure to reserve some of the starchy salt water before draining your pasta. You can use this water to help thin out your sauce if needed. Additionally, the salty pasta water will help the sauce adhere to the noodle.
- Cook Your Pasta To Al Dente: It’s important to cook your noodles to al dente (which translates as “to the tooth” in Italian). The noodles will continue to cook in the sauce, and you don’t want to end up with super chewy pasta.
- Use Fresh Organic Ingredients: This recipe only requires a handful of basic ingredients, so it’s very important that you use good quality, fresh ingredients.
- Sauce Thickness: The sauce may appear a bit loose at first, but not to fret, it will thicken up once it’s removed from the heat.

Nutrition