Sometimes during the weekends, I really like to invest my time and make complicated, time-consuming recipes. But I’ve noticed that the simplest recipes get the most recognition. Take this simple pasta dish as an example. It consists of just 6 ingredients and the only cooking that really needs to be done is boiling some water for the pasta. Everything else is pretty much just thrown into a bowl and mixed together, creating the simplest, yet most delicious, pasta dish. It had such a well balanced creamy, saltiness to it and my favorite part of the dish was, of course, the smoked salmon. It was kind of like a hybrid of raw salmon sushi with the smokiness that you get from bacon. It was an absolute hit with the boyfriend, and he claimed that this was his new favorite pasta dish. 

Sometimes, simple is just best.

Farfalle Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese (adapted from Martha Stewart):

Yields 2 servings

  • 6 ounces farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
  • 1/2 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1 ounce bar cream cheese, cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
  • 3 ounces smoked salmon, cut into bite-size pieces
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and drain well.

In a large bowl, add the pasta, onion, cream cheese, dill, capers and salmon.

Gently toss to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats the pasta.

Season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.

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