Creamy crème fraiche salmon pasta ready in about 15 minutes. An elegant yet comforting dish using simple ingredients and ready in no time.
A real fast recipe, this crème fraiche salmon pasta only takes the time needed to cook the noodles. And you can speed up that too if you boil the water in a kettle first. Check our more super-fast pasta recipes!
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Why will you love this recipe?
- Super fast: all you need is to cook the noodles and stir the sauce ingredients for a few minutes.
- Creamy: I love creamy noodles of every kind and this dish is particularly comforting.
- Elegant: despite how easy it is to make you can serve this dish to guests. It looks great, it tastes amazing, and includes ingredients that are posh enough for entertaining.
- Great weeknight meal as well: its simplicity makes it a dish you will keep coming back to.
- Good value: salmon can be pricey, but in this case, a small piece goes a long way, you will be able to feed a family with only 250 g/ 8.8 oz.
- Versatile: you can swap the fresh/frozen fish with smoked one. You can add some veggies, like peas, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, or broccoli.
What do you need for salmon pasta?
- Salmon: either fresh or frozen. Fresh is always best, but I rarely use it for this kind of dish. I always have some frozen fish in the freezer, ready to use for exactly this kind of fast weeknight dinners.
- Pasta: tagliatelle, spaghetti, fettuccine, any kind you like. Long shapes are nice, but not mandatory, short shapes are perfectly fine as well.
- Crème fraiche: soured thick cultured cream, similar to sour cream but less sour, with a fat content of about 30%.
- Herbs: either basil or dill. They are both delicious, but use either the one or the other, don’t mix them.
- Other ingredients: heavy cream, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.
Can I make crème fraiche myself?
Yes, if you cannot find it, but you would like to try it, making it at home is quite easy. All you need is a jar, heavy cream (pasteurized but not ultra-pasteurized), and cultured buttermilk.
Combine the ingredients, cover tightly, and let stand at room temperature (21-24 degrees Celsius/ 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 – 24 hours until really thick. Stir again, cover, and refrigerate for several hours before using. It keeps for about 1 week in the refrigerator.
What can I add?
- You can swap the regular salmon for smoked. Cut it into strips and add right at the end.
- Cut some sun-dried tomatoes into strips and add them to the dish.
- Add about 1 cup of frozen peas to the cooking noodles during the last 2-3 minutes of the cooking time.
- Add about 1 cup of boiled/roasted small broccoli florets at the end of the cooking time.
- Fry some mushrooms (sliced) or zucchini (sliced or cubed) in a pan and add them to the dish.
Can I make the dish lighter?
- Yes. You can use light crème fraiche and single cream.
How to cook the Crème Fraiche Salmon Pasta recipe?
- If the fish was frozen, it needs to be defrosted completely.
- Set the pasta water to cook. Once it boils, add salt generously and then the tagliatelle. Cook according to the packet’s instructions.
- While they cook, prepare the ingredients for the sauce, but only start to cook the sauce about 2 minutes before the noodles are cooked, as you will need some of the cooking water.
- Cut the fish fillets into small pieces, finely chop the garlic. Set both aside.
- Squeeze the lemon juice, set it aside.
- Grate the Parmesan, set aside.
- Chop the herbs, set them aside.
- Drain the tagliatelle and keep about ½ – ¾ cup of the cooking water.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add fish and garlic and stir for 1 minute.
- Add both dairy products, scant ½ cup pasta water, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Stir well for one minute.
- Add the drained noodles and stir well to coat them with the sauce for about 1-2 minutes. Add an extra splash of pasta water if necessary.
- Stir in the chopped herbs and adjust the taste with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice.
How to serve?
The salmon crème fraiche pasta is best served immediately. Leftovers keep in the fridges for 2-3 days in an airtight container. They can be reheated gently on the stove or microwaved. If reheating on the stove, add a splash of milk to loosen the sauce.
A fresh green salad is perfect on the side. I also love to serve this with cucumber salad with vinaigrette or with cooked peas. Or with Quick Air Fryer Asparagus in spring.
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Crème Fraiche Salmon Pasta
Creamy crème fraiche salmon pasta ready in about 15 minutes. An elegant yet comforting pasta dish using simple ingredients and ready in no time.
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Servings: 4
Calories: 1007kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb tagliatelle or spaghetti/fettuccine
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8.8 oz salmon boneless, skinless
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 1/4 cup crème fraiche
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup pasta cooking water
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan freshly grated
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt more to taste
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh basil OR dill
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in plenty of generously salted water according to the packet’s instructions.
- While it cooks, prepare the ingredients for the sauce, but only start to cook the sauce about 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked, as you will need some of the cooking water.
- Cut the fish into small pieces, finely chop the garlic, set aside in a bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice. Grate the Parmesan. Chop the herbs.
- Drain the pasta and keep about ½ – ¾ cup of the cooking water.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add salmon cubes and garlic and stir for 1 minute.
- Add crème fraiche, cream, scant ½ cup pasta water, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Stir well for one minute on low heat.
- Add the drained pasta and stir well for about 1-2 minutes to coat with the sauce. Add an extra splash of pasta water if necessary.
- Stir in the herbs and adjust the taste with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice.
Notes
Fresh or frozen and defrosted.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 of the dish | Calories: 1007kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 174mg | Sodium: 400mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g
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