Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta

Ingredients:

Salt and Pepper

1 lb. Dry linguine

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

2 shallots, thinly sliced

8 oz. Neufchatel cheese, cut into small

pieces and softened

5 cups baby spinach (about 5 oz.)

6 oz. Nature’s Promise Smoked Atlantic

Salmon, sliced or torn into bite-size pieces (see Note below)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions: 

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 10-12 minutes. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid, then drain pasta and set aside.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2-3 minutes.

3. Add cream cheese, reserved cooking liquid, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter and whisk until mostly smooth. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking frequently, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute, then stir in pasta until evenly coated. Fold in salmon and dill, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: For the salmon, I used “smoked cracker salmon” which I found at Sam’s Club. It is cracker-sized salmon slices for putting on crackers, it is seasoned and very good. It worked out very well in this recipe. If increasing the recipe, remember also to increase the amount of cooking liquid to reserve in Step 3. This recipe is amazing!