Salmon Alla Vodka

March 15, 2020

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 25 min

Total: 35 min

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Homemade vodka sauce? Crispy skin salmon? What a way to elevate pasta alla vodka!

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 1 lb salmon, cut into cubes
• 1 bunch of asparagus, each spear cut into 1 inch pieces
• Sauce Ingredients:
• 3 TBSP butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 12 oz can of tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 TBSP vodka
• Kosher salt and pepper for seasoning
• 1 lb. small round or tubed pasta, such as penne or rigatoni, or orecchiette
• 1/2 cup Half and Half cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• A handful of basil leaves, for garnish

Directions

• Step 1 Cook your salmon. Place a thin layer of olive oil in a large skillet. Salt and pepper the salmon cubes and add to the pan, skin side down over low heat. Let the skin crisp up and the salmon start to cook through, about 7 minutes. It doesn’t need to be cooked all the way through because you will add it to the sauce later.
• Step 2 Blanch the asparagus: Place asparagus in a small saucepan with water. Boil for about 4-5 minutes. (optional but such a nice addition to the dish!)
• Step 3 Prepare the Sauce: In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently, until paste has coated shallots and garlic and is beginning to darken, 5 minutes.
• Step 4 Add vodka to pot and stir to incorporate, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Turn off heat.
• Step 5 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
• Step 6 Return sauce to medium heat and add 1/4 cup of pasta water and Half + Half cream, stirring to combine. Add half the Parmesan and stir until melted.
• Step 7 Turn off heat and stir in salmon, asparagus and cooked pasta. Fold in remaining Parmesan, adding more pasta water (about a tablespoon at a time) if the sauce is looking dry. Season with salt if needed. Serve topped with more Parmesan and torn basil leaves.

So today was Day 1 of our coronavirus quarantine. There is so much misinformation floating around that I don’t even know if it’s a self or mandated-quarantine at this point, but I’d rather be proactive as possible. Since my son was exposed to someone who tested positive, I strongly feel we should quarantine and limit the spread. I may be paranoid and overreacting, but I’d rather overreact than underreact and limit the spread of this dreadful virus. If you’re going to panic, panic early!

We are trying to make this is as” fun” as we can given the circumstances, but as you’d expect – stress and anxiety are running high. Luckily, this is all over my 3 year old’s head and he thinks we are just on an extended vacation. He seemed a little confused as to why school was cancelled and why mommy has started “homeschooling,” but we found some fun ways to pass the time. We did morning circle time and sang Shabbat songs, we made puppets out of paper bags, we made playdoh from scratch, and then when we ran out of ideas, we facetimed all of our friends and told them we missed them.

And after a long day, and an even longer bedtime, we adults also found a way to distract ourselves and make this new normal as enjoyable as possible. For us – this looked like mixing cocktails (quarantinis anyone?) and sharing a delicious meal. I’m SO glad I stocked up when I did – so I do feel pretty set for a few days. Once we made those martinis and had that vodka on hand it was a nobrainer to make vodka sauce. Marc suggested salmon alla vodka on a whim – a favorite from our year in Chicago (although for the life of us we cannot remember the name of the restaurant). I actually had meant to post this awhile ago but it somehow never made it into a post. I’m glad I have the excuse now!

You can totally make this same recipe and use a storebought jar of vodka sauce, but making your own vodka sauce really isn’t as hard as you would think and even more delicious! And a nice way to pass the time when you have a lot of it to spare 😉 The asparagus is also optional, but I wanted to add a pop of color to the photo. I also highly recommend it serving alongside a martini. Vodka goes a long way to calming nerves and as a bonus, it may even sterilize the germs. Since it looks like we will be home for the long haul, I hope to be posting more creative and easy things you can make as you empty out your pantry! Wishing you all happy, healthy thoughts!