CREAMY PASTA WITH SMOKED SALMON, ARUGULA AND LEMON

Creamy Pasta With Smoked Salmon, Arugula and Lemon image

One selling point of smoked salmon is that you don't need to do much to it to get it on the table. Fold it on top of toast and dab it with sour cream and you have the lazy man's cocktail party. But take the salmon one or two steps further and you break out of the cliché. Salmon's buttery fat and smoke serve as useful flavoring elements. In this easy 15-minute meal, it's chopped up and used as a counterweight in pasta tossed with full-fat Greek yogurt, arugula, fresh dill, lemon zest and juice. It is, at once, lively and comforting.

Provided by Amanda Hesser

Categories lunch, weekday, pastas, main course

Time 15m

Yield Serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 9

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Ingredients

Salt
3/4 pound casarecci, gemelli or gigli pasta
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 pound smoked salmon, cut into bite-size pieces
1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped
Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon (or a regular lemon)
2 cups packed arugula
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
Coarsely ground black pepper

Steps:

Bring a large pot of salty water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta. While it cooks, combine in a large serving bowl the yogurt, salmon, garlic, lemon zest and juice, arugula and dill. Just before the pasta is finished cooking, scoop out 1/2 cup pasta water and reserve.
Drain the pasta and slide it into the bowl. Using two spoons, toss the pasta and sauce as you would a salad. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water. Season to taste with salt and grind a generous amount of pepper on top.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 454, UnsaturatedFat 2 grams, Carbohydrate 68 grams, Fat 8 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 27 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 558 milligrams, Sugar 5 grams