Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups conchiglie, or another small dried pasta
1 tin keta salmon, crumbled into bite sized pieces
1 cup dry white wine
1 heaping cup sliced shallots
½ cup creme fraiche
½ cup dill, chopped, plus more to garnish
2 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
½ tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice and zest to finish
Pinch of aleppo
DIRECTIONS:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add a generous amount of salt. The water should be well seasoned, but not unbearably so.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter and heat till the butter begins to barely bubble. Add the shallots, coat well in the hot fat, and season with a judicious amount of salt. Careful here - it’s important to season as you go, but it’s also essential to not incorporate too much salt right out the gate as the capers lend a very salty punch to this dish. Melt the shallots over medium-low heat until they are soft and irresistibly savory. Add the chopped capers and dried thyme. Now deglaze with the wine; you want to let it simmer and reduce by about a third.
When your water has come to a boil, add your pasta and cook according to the lower end of the recommended-cook-time spectrum. The pasta should be just under al dente when you remove it from the cauldron, as you want it to finish cooking in the company of the sauce. When the pasta is sufficiently cooked, remove it from the pot with a spider skimmer and add it to the sauce-y skillet. Ladle in about ½ cup of pasta water, and assertively stir the pasta to help meld its starches with the sauce. Lower the heat a touch, and stir in the creme fraiche, salmon, and dill. Season with a grind of black pepper. Taste for seasoning and the doneness of your pasta, adjust if needed.
To serve, ladle the pasta into your favorite bowl and finish with a good squeeze of lemon, lemon zest, more dill and a pinch of aleppo.
