Tuesday: Salmon Penne with Parsley Sauce

I like that this can be served hot or cold, a little less excited because the original recipe called for low fat crème fraiche. Being that I live in North America (do I mention that enough? cause I can totally ramp that up) in a small town, crème fraiche is tricky to come by. I know how to make it, but making it low fat means yoghurt or something else that will curdle in heat. However, since this does not involve direct heat, I am going to try two different methods; let's see what works!

You will need:

1 lb salmon filet, skinless
2 c whole wheat pasta
1\2 lb asparagus or 1\2 c peas
1\2 c fat-free Greek yoghurt
2 Tbsp low-fat buttermilk
3 Tbsp parsley, chopped finely
Zest of one small orange
Salt, pepper

First, prep your veggies and fish. You want the asparagus in bite-sized pieces, so trim off a third of the stocks, cut what remains into one-inch pieces. Rinse and put in a steamer basket. If you are using peas, thaw the frozen ones and um, measure out the fresh ones.

Stir the yoghurt and buttermilk together with a fork, whisking to get rid of any lumps. Set aside. Alternatively, I have stirred one tablespoon of buttermilk into a cup of homogenized milk and let it sit out overnight. I am going to check the consistency and see which one tastes better \ has the best consistency.

Cut your fish into bite-sized pieces as well, put on a heat-proof plate and cover with foil.

Boil a pot of water, add in the pasta. Bring back to a boil and put your salmon plate overtop. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until both the pasta and salmon are cooked. Sometime in there start steaming your asparagus, if you are using it, for 3 minutes. Set aside.

Mix the faux crème fraiche, parsley, orange zest salt and pepper together in a large-ish bowl, taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. If you are serving this cold, allow the salmon, pasta and asparagus to cool a bit before adding to the bowl. Refrigerate for at least an hour. If you are serving this as a hot supper, no such reserve is required, mix it all together immediately and have at 'er.

I used organic flat-leaf parsley because curly parsley just wasn't pretentious enough. Plus they were out at my grocery store

I used a rotini / penne combination

I made this into 4 portions at  320 calories per, using the Greek yoghourt blend. I am going to add a salad and call this a good summer supper.



Enjoy!

Neeeeeaaaar!

Far!