Penne al Salmone

I don't think I'll ever get this tasting quite as good as the version Mr B ordered in Tuscany.  But it's good enough to take us back to that wonderful day of shopping and eating!

Penne al Salmone

Serves 2

Approx 1 cup of dry penne pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
100g smoked salmon slices

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup milk

Cook pasta until al dente in a pot of salted, boiling water.  DO NOT add olive oil to the pasta water, unless you want your sauce to slide right off!

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add the garlic.  When the garlic is fragrant, add the salmon.  You can turn the heat off fairly quickly, leave the salmon in the pan to take on the garlic flavour.

Mix the milk and cream well.  Then, in another saucepan, melt the butter until frothy and then add the flour.  Slowly add the combined milk and cream, stirring constantly, to make a white sauce.  Once all the cream has been added, remove the garlic from the salmon pan and then tip the salmon into the cream sauce and mix together.

Drain the cooked pasta, reserving the water.  Add pasta to the sauce and mix well over a low heat.  Add 1/4 cup of pasta water if the sauce has thickened too much.  Your pasta should now be just coated with beautiful, creamy salmon sauce.

My boys LOVE this dish, if Mr B will actually let them share ;)