Salmon Alfredo a Recipe Doctor favorite
| • | Dinner for one? |
By Elaine Magee
Q. Do you have a favorite pasta recipe? I've tried many of the Recipe Doctor pasta recipes, and my family has really enjoyed them. We wondered if you had a personal favorite.
A. You bet I have a favorite! Since I love pasta dishes, I am always on the hunt for new pasta recipes to make over. The one I'm sharing with you today, though, is an "Elaine Original."
I threw this dish together a month ago and it was so easy and delicious that I've made it once a week ever since. Yes, I'm using whipped real butter to make a light white sauce. There is no replacement for the flavor of browned butter. Margarine doesn't brown because it doesn't have the impurities that butter has which help develop the caramelized flavors.
Since we are using "whipped butter," it is adding 3.5 grams of total fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. The rest of the white-sauce ingredients are adding very little fat and saturated fat to those totals — fat-free half-and-half and light cream cheese.
Smoked salmon is stirred in at the end of simmering the sauce, giving it just enough time to cook through. The cooked whole-wheat pasta is stirred in along with some dill and freshly ground pepper. It's easy and elegant, and it is truly one of my favorite pasta recipes.
FAST SMOKED SALMON ALFREDO
Combine cream cheese with half-and-half in a small food processor (or electric mixer), pulsing until smooth.
Spoon whipped butter into a medium nonstick saucepan and cook, stirring often, over medium-high heat until nicely browned (it will smell like caramel).
Pour in the cream-cheese mixture and continue to stir and gently boil until starting to thicken (about 30 seconds). Stir in the Parmesan cheese and then stir in the cooked noodles and cook and stir for an additional 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and stir in the smoked salmon and dill. Add black pepper to taste and serve.
MAKES 3 SERVINGS
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian and author of "Food Synergy." Learn more at www.recipedoctor.com.
