Hey Hive!
We're back with more of our home cooking! If you're unfamiliar with this series, it's where I showcase some new recipes I've been trying at home since I've been cooking a lot nowadays! Both because it's cheaper and also healthier to cook for yourself compared to eating out. While I have some regular recipes I do like to try new things and figured I'd share the new ones I've tried.
It'd been a while since I made pasta and since I usually make aglio olio I wanted to try and make one with a cream-based sauce this time. I found out it's actually pretty easy to make, I just needed some extra ingredients.
Here is what I used:
- 300g spaghetti
- shiitake mushrooms
- 2 carrots
- 200g spinach
- shredded mozzarella
- 60g all purpose cream
- 200g salmon fillet
- garlic
- chicken stock
Seasonings:
- salt
- black pepper
- cayenne pepper
- parika
Step 1: Clean and season the fish with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika. I also sliced it into two smaller fillets to make it easier to fry later.
Step 2: Wash and slice the veggies and mushrooms. I like to slice the carrots julienne when cooking with noodles.
Step 3: Boil the veggies in a pot of water until softened.
Step 4: Boil the pasta according to package instructions.
Once the pasta is boiled, drain the pot and set aside.
Step 5: Pan fry the salmon skin-side down on high heat for a minute then flip and fry for another minute. Flip one more time to crisp up the skin a bit more and then set aside.
Step 6: Stir fry the mushrooms in a wok or pan until they've softened a little bit and then add in garlic and stir fry until aromatic.
Step 7: Add in chicken stock mixed with water and a dollop of cream.
I didn't really go by measurements here but depending on the amount of pasta you used it might be different. I definitely could've used more sauce though so maybe double this amount if you're using the same amount of pasta.
Step 8: Add in the cheese once the cream and stock have homogenised.
Once the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened up, it's ready.
Step 9: Add the pasta back in and mix until well combined with the sauce.
Once the pasta is covered in the sauce, it's ready!
I definitely could have used more sauce since I had quite a bit of pasta, but it was alright.
I think usually restaurants will have the salmon in the sauce too but since I panfried my salmon I wanted to retain the crispiness.
I also sprinkled some herbs on top of the salmon just for a little more aroma and oomph. But it honestly looked and smelled really good!
Overall, I think it was delicious! The crisp from the salmon paired very well with the pasta. I think the sauce could've used more seasoning but thankfully the fish was seasoned plenty so overall it balanced really well. I think restaurants definitely salt their sauce a lot compared to mine.
This mushroom cream sauce was a winner though! Sean really liked it as well, so I'll definitely be making it again. Although it takes a bit more steps compared to aglio olio I do prefer this a bit more and I know Sean likes creamy pasta too, so it's worth the effort. Maybe next time I'll try this with bacon?
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
