Italian Pasta Recipes: Salmon Pasta Pasta Al Salmone Affumicato

Italian Pasta Recipes

 

When I was a teenager I worked at a local Italian restaurant in Los Angeles called Restaurant Stromboli. At the time I went to work there the establishment had already been in business for 40yrs and was known for it's great Northern Italian pasta recipes. It was owned by a man named Frank Mele' and he was from Bari, Italy. Bari is a town located on the Northern coast of Italy on the Adriatic ocean. Bari is know for it's excellent seafood and it's traditional Italian pasta recipes. Many of the dishes made in Bari you will only see in Bari. One of those Italian pasta recipes is called Pasta Al Salmone Affumicato or pasta with smoked salmon! This dish truly is one of my favorite Italian pasta recipes .

Working at Restaurant Stromboli was a great time in my life. I worked with a small crew of people that had been with Mr. Mele' for year and years before I got there so I was the new kid on the block and truth be told it did not take Mr. Mele' and his crew long to take me in and treat me like family. My shift was from 4p.m. til 12-1a.m. Once all the customers left we would clean the place up and make it ready for the next day and then Mr. Mele' and his son Dan would go into the kitchen and cook us all dinner. This is truly where I got exposed to some of the best Italian pasta recipes that I have ever had.

Mr. Mele' would be cooking the crew dinner and we had a large round table in the back dining room that we would set up and we would sit and drink Soave Bolla or Valpolicella and talk about the events of the night! Yes! I drank wine with the crew! In Italy it is not unheard of for a teen to share wine with friends and family and that is what we all were! Family! Mr. Mele' didn't speak the best English but, the hostess named Kathleen told me that if he smiles and laughs then he likes you! I made Mr. Mele' smile and laugh alot!

I started cooking when I was thirteen years old. By the time I went to work for Mr. Mele' I would learn some of the best Italian Pasta Recipes around. I had the opportunity to hang out in the kitchen here and there during my shifts at work and on the very, very rare occasion that we would have a slow night I was allowed to stay in the kitchen and learn how to cook the delicious Italian pasta dishes that we served to the public. It is here that I first learned how to properly cook pasta and other foods. I learned how to properly prep vegetables and my basic cuts. I learned how to saute' and how to cook with wine. There were many skills learned with Mr. Mele'. I learned how to cook seafood like scallops and shrimp and calamari and I learned how to cook and cut meats. I learned how to cleaned tenderloins and make one of my other favorite dishes: Braciole! OMG! Braciole! To die for! All the skills that I learned in Mr. Mele's kitchen have stuck with me all of my life! As one of my many teachers in life told me once: "Once you learn good technique, you never forget it!" Pasta Al Salmone Affumicato! One of my favorite Italian pasta recipes in the world! I never seen this dish anywhere else in any Italian restaurant that I have ever been in and I have been in a few! I come from New York City where some of the best Italian pasta recipes in the world come from and I can honestly say that I have never seen this pasta dish in NYC either! I would venture to say that many of you reading this blog post have never seen this dish in your hometowns either! If you have I would like to hear about it! This dish is one of the great Italian pasta recipes that hails from Bari, Italy!


I often think about those days when I was a kid and working at Stomboli's for Mr. Mele' I remember how time felt to me back then and what is was to be a teen back then and like all of us I wish at times that I could go back in time and live it all over again and learn how to make those fantastic Italian pasta recipes again and hang out with my old crew. Alas! This is not going to happen but, they are happy memories that I have of working for Mr. Mele' and his son Dan and the great crew of people that I worked with and the excellent Italian pasta recipes that I leaned back then as well as the skills that I learned that I keep with me to this very day! Enjoy the video!

The Ingredients:

1. 1 Lb of Penne Regate Pasta.
2. 2 Tbsp of unsalted butter or about half a stick.
3. 2-4 Tbsp of finely chopped or finely slivered brown onion. You can also use 3 Tbsp of fine diced shallot if you wish.
4. 1-2 Tbsp finely chopped or pureed garlic.
5. 6oz + smoked salmon oil cured. I buy the trimmings instead of the belly and I save a ton of money to make this dish!
6. 3 Tbsp vodka, whiskey or brandy. I use the whiskey as I feel it imparts character that vodka does not!
7. 1/2 Tsp. salt.
8. Pinch of black pepper I like the triple peppercorn variety.
9. 3/4 cup Clam juice.
10. 4 Tbsp heavy cream.
11. 3 Tbsp tomato sauce.
12. Grated cheese any variety: Parmigiano Reggiano, Grand Padana, Pecorino Romano, Asiago blend. any kind will do.

Method:

Fill a large pot with well salted water and set it to boil to cook your Penne Regate. Now take your skillet and use medium high heat  to melt the butter. Don't let butter brown or burn. Get the butter to a sizzle this should take about a minute or two depending on whether your stove is electric or gas. After the butter sizzles add your onions and cook them for about two minutes or until they are translucent and soft. You can carmelize them a bit if your want but don't go overboard with it. Now when the onions are soft it is time to add your garlic and salmon and cook them until the garlic is softened and the salmon turns pink. Make sure to stir it up frequently to prevent the ingredients in the skillet from sticking to it. Now slowly pour in your choice of alcohol, slowly because you don't want the alcohol to flame up you just want the alcohol to cook out leaving the taste of your choice of alcohol behind. It should take about two minutes to get the alcohol to evaporate on a medium heat. Now add your salt and pepper and keep stirring. Now add the cream and lower the heat to a medium low and stir to keep it from curdling. After a minute or two add your clam juice and tomato sauce and raise the heat back to a medium high and bring this mix to a light boil and reduce the sauce a bit. Now lower heat and simmer for about five minutes.  Finally you should have your pasta cooked and drained and placed back into the pot you cooked it in and added some olive oil to in order to keep it from sticking. Pour your sauce over this pasta and while on a medium high heat cook the sauce into the pasta and let the liquid get absorbed into the pasta  and plate it. Optional: Add some red pepper flakes and your choice of grated cheese. Eat and enjoy!