Smoked Salmon Pasta with Lemon Garlic Sauce

Every once in a while,

I make pasta.

I absolutely love pasta,

so I always need to practice self control

and make it only on special occasions.

And what other special occasion

is there then having guests for dinner?

Tonight we are having Alex and Alex over.

Alex M. is in his twelfth quarter and finishes in just a couple of weeks.

Alex and Alex both played football with Spencer at UBC,

and both are down here going to school with Spencer.

Sometimes we have them over for dinner,

I make something yummy and homemade for them. 

(I know if my son was going to school away from me,

I'd appreciate knowing that someone was making them a mom-like meal once in a while.)

The boys hang out and talk about "the good ol' days" when they played ball.

I love listening to their stories.

Tonight I'm going to make them one of my favourite pasta dishes.

Something I concocted a while back with smoked salmon, peas,

bell peppers and a lemon super garlic-y sauce.

Here's the recipe:

What you'll need:

-smoked salmon

-frozen peas, 1 bell pepper diced, 1/2 yellow onion diced.

-butter or margerine

-milk

-flour or cornstarch

-1 lemon

-4 or 5 cloves of garlic (fresh local garlic has more flavour, I recommend using it) 

-salt and pepper

-pasta that can hold a heavy sauce, I like bow tie

Method:

1) Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan. Slice the smoked salmon into thin strips. Add them to the pan. Next add the onion and bell pepper. Heat over med-low.

2) While that is cooking, make a simple roux with butter/margerine, flour and milk. Zest the rind of half a lemon. Add your garlic, salt and pepper. Then add fresh lemon juice a bit at a time to taste. If you wish, add a bit of thyme and/or dill, but just a touch. The real stars in this sauce are the garlic and lemon.

3) Whisk together, and do a taste test. Turn on med-low and keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. It should begin to thicken. 

4) Put a big pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. 

5) Next, add some garlic to your smoked salmon and vegetable mix if you wish (I do!) 

6) Add the pasta to the water, cook al dente (a slight firmness in the centre of the pasta.) Check your sauce. Once the pasta is close to being finished, and your sauce is beginning to thicken, add the frozen peas to the smoked salmon pan.

7) Drain the pasta, and add the sauce to the smoked salmon pan. Add the pasta and stir to combine. 

ENJOY!