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DILL LEMON BUTTER PASTA AND SEARED SALMON

A delicate pasta dish with noodles cooked al dente, then smothered in a creamy dill lemon butter sauce; enhanced with a chardonnay wine, and topped with a crispy seared salmon fillet.

  • Author: Brooklynn Mayolo
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: seafood
  • Cuisine: italian

Ingredients

Scale

DILL LEMON BUTTER SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • one lemon
  • 4 tablespoons white wine (I usually use chardonnay)
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano
  •  spaghetti or fettuccine noodles (1/2 a box or 8 oz of home made)
  • 3 tablespoons pasta water

SEARED SALMON INGREDIENTS

  • 2 (4oz) salmon filets
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • high heat oil (i.e. vegetable, sunflower, canola)

EQUIPMENT:

  • small oven safe skillet for salmon (or skillet and oven safe baking dish)
  • medium skillet for sauce
  • large pot
  • whisk
  • colander
  • fish spatula or regular spatula

Instructions

For the Sauce:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.
  2. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium low heat. Add the juice of one lemon (save peel for zesting) and white wine. Allow the alcohol to cook out for two minutes over medium low heat.
  3. Add salt to the boiling water, then add pasta. Cook the noodles al dente (firm to the bite) per package instructions. Home-made noodles are ready once they float to the top.
  4. Return to your sauce and whisk in the heavy cream in 1/4 cup increments. Whisk in garlic powder to the sauce. Turn off the heat and stir as needed.
  5. Drain the noodles in the colander, but reserve some pasta water to whisk into sauce. Add the noodles to the sauce. Stir the pasta until they are coated in the silky sauce. Set aside.

For the Salmon:

  1. Heat a small skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. 
  2.  Lower the salmon into the pan angled away from you, presentation side down. Do not not move it around. Once you see a pink line formed around the salmon and golden crispy edges on the bottom, splash with a dash of white wine or lemon juice (about a tablespoon)
  3. Guide your fish spatula under the salmon and softly flip it away from you. Lower temperature to medium. Finish cooking in the oven at 350 °F if needed.
  4.  Salmon is ready when the temperature reads 110-140 °F or the outside is opaque and the inside is slightly translucent. It should also give slightly when you poke it. Salmon will continue to cook even after removed from heat.
  5. Heat the noodles back up on the stove (in skillet) if needed. Serve the salmon on top of the pasta and garnish with parmesan, lemon zest, and dill. Enjoy!

Keywords: seafood, salmon, pasta, Italian, lemon pasta, seafood pasta, lemon-butter, dill salmon