Creamy Lime Pasta Salad with Seared Salmon

 

Creamy Lime Pasta Salad with Seared Salmon

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Salads
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 8 oz Dry Penne Pasta
  • 2 Roma Tomatoes, de-stemmed, seeded and diced
  • 8 Asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal
  • 2 Carrots, peeled, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 1 Cucumbers, Sliced and seeded
  • 1 Head of Romaine rough chopped
  • 3 Tbsp Simple Vinaigrette
  • 1 lb Salmon Filet, 1-inch cubes

Dressing

  • 1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp Lime Juice
  • 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, separated
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

Mise en place

  • Trim and cut all vegetables; place carrots and asparagus in one bowl and cucumber, tomato and romaine in another.
  • Skin, de-bone, and cube the salmon filet into 1-inch pieces

Cook

  • Add salt to pasta water and bring to a boil. Cook penne until al dente (approximately 9 minutes)
  • While pasta is cooking, blanch the asparagus and carrots for 5 minutes until they lose their crisp, then shock in cold water and return them back into their bowl.
  • In small bowl, whisk together yogurt, lime juice, 2 Tbl of olive oil, salt and pepper.
  • Coat pasta, carrots and asparagus in yogurt sauce, reserving ¼ cup.
  • When ready, strain the pasta and and cool it by rinsing in cold water.
  • Dress lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes in simple vinaigrette.
  • In 1 Tbl of olive oil, sear salmon cubes on high heat until outer edges are opaque but inside remains pink (2-3 minutes.)

Plate

  • Place a bed of dressed lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers on plate. Top with pasta mixture then seared salmon cubes. Drizzle with remaining yogurt lime dressing.
    Serve with a crisp white wine.

Notes

Simple Vinaigrette takes only minutes to make can can be kept in refrigerator for weeks to dress salads and cooked vegetables.
Jamie Kelly is an American marketing professional turned gastronaut. She is eating her way through a full-spectrum exploration of food culture in Spanish-speaking lands and staging ambitious re-enactments of her finds in her own kitchen. To join the expedition, follow at FB: gastro-curious, IG: jamie_gastrocurious and www.gastro-curious.com.