creamy salmon pasta with sun dried tomatoes

Salmon

Creamy Salmon Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes

In this creamy salmon pasta recipe, sun-dried tomatoes are used in two ways. The flavorful oil is used to sauté shallots, while the tomatoes get added to the cream sauce.

Ingredients

1 pound whole-wheat rigatoni
¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons oil from the jar (or 2 tablespoons olive oil), divided
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup half-and-half
½ cup unsalted chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
12 ounces cooked salmon or canned salmon, flaked into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Put a pot of water on to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions to 1 minute before al dente; drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat sun-dried tomato oil (or olive oil) in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic; cook, stirring often, until the shallot is translucent, about 1 minute. Add sun-dried tomatoes, half-and-half, broth and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced slightly, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the pasta to the tomato mixture in the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to evenly coat the pasta, for 2 minutes. Stir in basil. Remove from heat. Gently fold in salmon and lemon juice. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.