Have dinner on the table in under 20 minutes with this restaurant style Salmon with Angel Hair dinner you can serve with or without veggies!
I’ve been in love with salmon since, gosh I don’t know when. It’s one of the first meals I learned to cook by myself, that didn’t come from a box. It has a soft spot in my heart after spending many evenings as a kid cooking dinner for my mom after she had just gotten off a 12 hour nursing shift. It’s so pretty and flavorful, and can we just talk about Salmon Nigiri at the sushi restaurant. I die! It’s my obsession have to have it when we go or I’ll stab someone with my fork. Yeah. I went there.
This particular salmon prep is throw back to my birthday a few years back. I went into the restaurant I was working for to have dinner before going out to the bar with friends. I asked the chef to make me something. I said past and salmon, but no mushrooms please. We had salmon and angel hair dish on the menu, I knew Chef would make something awesome and he did. This dish is closer to the menu version, but it brings back this dinner memories and I get a smile on my face with every bite.
For this dinner, the angel hair is tossed in a light white wine lemon cream sauce, and topped with a perfectly flaky filet of salmon. I added some asparagus to the dish for color and to get some desperately needed veggies in my diet. Spinach would be a addition in place of the asparagus is you’re not a fan, or leave the veggies out all together. I won’t judge. I’m not a big veggie eater at all anyway. The lemon in the sauce plays beautifully off the fish, and since the sauce is a bit thinner this dish won’t weight you down!
Ingredients
- Two 6-8 ounce portions of salmon filet
- ⅓ pound angel hair pasta
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup dry white wine i recommend a sauv blanc
- 1 ¼ cups 2% or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1/ 2 teaspoon pepper divided
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard powder divided
- Zest of 1 large lemon about 2 tablespoons or more
- Juice of 1/2 large lemon about 1 1/2 tablespoons
- 2 cups asparagus spears woody ends removed and cut into 2-inch piece (measure after cutting the spears), optional
- 2 to 3 cups fresh spinach rinsed and dried, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place salmon fillets, skin side down, on the foil. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard. Season fish with spice blend, rub seasoning into the flesh of the fish, and bake for 15 minutes.
- While oven is preheating, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and season generously with salt. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain.
- While the pasta and fish cook, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter, and add white wine to the skillet and whisk to combine. Cook for 1 minute, then add the milk. Whisk to combine. You may see some solids form on the bottom of the pan, don't worry...it's going to be okay.
- Add flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard; whisk to combine until there are no lumps. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce brings to bubble and thicken, stirring often to prevent lumps and burning.
- Add lemon zest , and stir to combine. Add drained pasta and spinach (if adding a vegetable) to the skillet, toss to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until spinach wilts. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, toss pasta. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- When salmon has finished baking, carefully remove it from the oven. Insert a spatula between the skin and flesh of the fish and slide it under the flesh to separate and remove the skin from the fish.
- Portion half the pasta onto each of two plates. Place one salmon filet on top of each pasta serving. Squeeze additional lemon juice over the dish, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Tara Murray says
Excellent.