Creamy, Elegant Pasta in No Time

Pasta with cream sauce is one of those dishes that is incredibly easy to make, is incredibly fast to make, and offers endless variations (like this and this). One of my favorite variations is fettuccini with smoked salmon and dill cream sauce. A small chunk of smoked salmon (don’t use the slices, they don’t work nearly as well) and some fresh dill and you have a pasta that tastes rich and even a little elegant. Sometimes, for a homier version, instead of the dill I use 2 tsp. of Old Bay seasoning, which is also delicious.

Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Sauce (4 to 6 servings)

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 4 oz. smoked salmon fillet, shredded with a fork
• Fresh dill
• 1 lb. fettuccini, cooked and drained

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk. Heat until the sauce thickens. Stir in the salmon and dill. Pour sauce over fettuccini and toss.

Chicken Salad goes Indian

I wanted my chicken salad a little more exotic this time. I decided to use Indian flavors but I knew I was going to have to do a lot of adapting which is half the fun. I turned to my Indian cookbooks for help. Rather than just poach the chicken breasts in chicken broth like I usually do, I decided to prepare them based on a recipe for chicken tandoori, which gave the chicken lots of flavor. (No color, though. The bright red chicken tandoori that you typically see in Indian restaurants comes courtesy of food coloring.) For the dressing, I thought using yogurt as the base rather than mayonnaise would be a little more “authentic.” Then I thought of my favorite Indian spinach dish (saag) and thought why not use that for my inspiration. Using a lamb saag recipe – more as a rough guide for the types of spices to use than anything else – I concocted a dressing with more Indian spices to complement the tandoori chicken. The final result is an extremely flavorful and exotic chicken salad that bears little resemblance to my two inspiration dishes but is delicious nonetheless. I served the chicken salad on naan, which you can now buy at the supermarket!

I must have been very hungry as I was planning the meal because I decided I needed a side dish. Flipping through my What’s Cooking Indian cookbook, I came across a recipe for potatoes and peas that looked delicious and I though that it might make a good potato salad substitute. Not only was this a delicious side dish, it was also excellent cold!

Indian Chicken Salad with Spinach (6 servings)

• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lemon
• 12 oz. plain yogurt
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¾ inch ginger root, peeled
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. ground coriander
• 3 oz. baby spinach

1. Cut slits into the chicken. Sprinkle ½ tsp. salt and squeeze the juice from half the lemon over them. Lightly rub the salt and juice into the slits. Turn the chicken over and repeat with the remaining salt and lemon juice. Set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Blend 6 oz. of the yogurt, onion, 1 clove of the garlic, ¼ inch of the ginger, cayenne pepper, and garam masala in a food processor until it is a smooth paste.
3. Put the chicken and juices into a large zip-top plastic bag with the yogurt marinade, tossing until the chicken is completely covered. Seal and refrigerate 6-24 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 450°. Take the chicken out of the bag, shaking off as much marinade as possible. Place in a shallow baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until just doe. Cool and shred the chicken.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 6 oz. of yogurt, the remaining garlic clove pressed, the remaining ½-inch of ginger grated, the cumin, and the coriander. Add the spinach and shredded chicken and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.

Indian Potatoes and Peas (6 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• ½ inch ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable broth
• 3 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes
• 1 10-oz. box frozen peas
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, chili powder, turmeric, and salt. Add the spice mixture to the onions. Stir in 2/3 cup of vegetable stock, cover, and cook until the onions are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas and the remaining 2/3 cup vegetable stock, cover, and cook 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the parsley.

Isn’t that Niçoise?

This is my absolute favorite dish for hot summer days. I make it at least once every summer and I always make sure I have the ingredients on hand. It’s from an intriguing little cookbook called Cool Food. It’s very fast and the only real cooking is the boiling of the pasta. I often – as I did this time – use angel hair which cooks up even faster than spaghetti.. This dish is best served at room temperature.
Spaghetti Niçoise (6 to 8 servings)

• 1 lb. spaghetti or angel hair, cooked and drained.
• 3 cans good-quality tuna in olive oil
• ½ cup Kalamata or Niçoise olives, pitted and halved
• 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4 anchovy fillets, chopped into small pieces
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 tbsp. baby capers, drained
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped

1. Empty the tuna and its oil into a large bowl. Add the olives, tomato halves, anchovies, lemon zest and juice, capers, and parsley.Add the pasta and toss.