Fennel and Smoked Salmon Pasta

Lovely Leftovers – Fennel and Smoked Salmon Pasta:

An admission, this was going to be the fennel and smoked salmon salad that Janice posted a while ago.

Sorry Janice.

It’s COLD and I need warm comfort food.  And there’s not much in the house because I am off to Tuscany tomorrow.  In fact, I think this is really the wrong sort of pasta – fusilli would have been a lot better or much smaller shells.  But it was all I had in the cupboard!

So, here’s a simple dish to use up the leftovers in the fridge before I go away for a few days.  And to warm me up.  I’ve seen pasta served with fennel seed and fish or sausage before, but not with fresh fennel.  I’ve also sauted fennel in olive oil and served it with lemon as a vegetable.  But I didn’t have anything like lamb or fresh fish to use up just a few scraps of smoked salmon and half a fennel bulb left over from lunch when the sun WAS shining and I did make the salad mentioned above.  Despite the slight randomness, this dish was a real winner.

Smoked Salmon and Fennel Pasta

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Serves	2
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	20 minutes
Allergy	Fish, Wheat
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Serve Hot

Ingredients

• 1/2 head Fennel (sliced finely)
• 50g Smoked Salmon (cut into pieces)
• 10g Parmesan (grated or shaved)
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 150g Pasta
• 1/2 Lemon (zested and juiced)

Directions

Step 1	Reserve any fennel leaves for garnish, genly fry the slices in olive oil
Step 2	Meanwhile, prepare the pasta according to the packet instructions
Step 3	Drain the pasta and return to the pan
Step 4	Stir in all the cooked fennel and oil, the lemon juice and zest and the smoked salmon
Step 5	Warm through gently until the salmon becomes opaque and the mixture is heated through
Step 6	Serve, garnished with the parmesan and the fennel fronds and seasoned with black pepper

This dish really was to use up leftovers.  I had half a packet of smoked salmon, half a lemon and half a fennel bulb left over in the fridge.  And, one of the universal truths of life is that wasting food you really like is a dreadful sin.  So I am very pleased to have made myself a satisfying last supper and  I am entering it into TurquoiseLemon‘s No Waste Food Challenge which is FENNEL this month:)