A couple of years ago, more than I care to mention, I had the most amazing pasta with salmon and red caviar at an Italian restaurant. I only had this dish once, but it’s stayed with me over the years: the rich taste of the salmon, paired with the oiliness of the caviar and the comfort of the pasta. I don’t know why I never went back and ordered this again, nor why I didn’t try to reproduce this at home sooner, even though this probably has a lot to do with the fact that red caviar is not something you ordinarily have lying around the house. Luckily, I received a beautiful jar of red caviar as a gift for Christmas.

So there I was, with red caviar on hand and also, salmon fillet. My daughter loves fish and she is a huge fan of salmon. So every once in a while, we buy some nice fillets from our local and trusted fishmonger. I had a nice fillet in the fridge from the evening before, as we had bought a bit too much for the three of us.

This dish is ready in under 30 minutes and it tastes as great as it looks. I think I would class it under sexy food, it’s that gorgeous looking. I made this for a weekday dinner at home, but it’s definetly show-off material, so you could easily double or triple the recipe and have friends over for a dinner date, if you like. Or, perhaps you’d prefer to just eat a whole plate, on your own, in your pajamas. You know, whatever floats your boat.

This recipe is fairly easy, but be careful when adding the egg, so that you don’t cook it into an omelette. Also, for a gluten-free version, you could use whole grain rice pasta, they work out really nice, just be careful to cook them really al dente.

For the poached salmon:

150gr salmon fillet, skin removed

3/4 cup olive oil

a few grains of black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp dried thyme or one sprig of fresh thyme

Place the oil, pepper, bay leaf, garlic and thyme in a saucepan over low heat. When the oil reaches 65C/150F (aprox 4 mins), place the salmon in the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until firm. Gently remove from the pan and place on a plate covered with paper towels.

For the pasta:

250gr/9oz fettuccine

30gr/2Tblsp unsalted butter

2 Shallots

150gr/5oz poached salmon

100gr/3.5oz smoked salmon

2 Tblsp sour cream

1 large free-range egg

2 Tblsp red caviar

Chopped dill

Zest of 1/4 lemon

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fetuccine according to the package instructions, just until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large non stick pan and add the shallots. Cook over low heat until translucent. Cut the poached salmon and shred the smoked salmon into strips, then add them to ypur pan. In a small bowl, beat the egg and season with salt and pepper. At this point you should add your dried fettuccine to the pan. Add the sour cream, followed by the beaten egg. Remove from the hob and mix everything. Divide between two plates and serve immediately garnished with dill, lemon zest and red caviar; it also pairs well with a nice glass of white wine.

Table linens by grünlila