Ahh, summertime when veggies are fresh and you really don’t want to eat hot food anyway, right? Right. So I made this lovely Lemon-Dill Salmon Pasta Salad with Cucumbers and Peas for lunch. Made it up on the fly as I had salmon for dinner last night. In the end, it turned out to be more “northern” influenced… these flavours remind me of Scandinavia, though I doubt this would be authentically Swedish or Norwegian. At any rate, it *is* delicious. I have plenty of leftovers so it may turn into dinner as well as lunch.
Ingredients
2 (6-oz.) wild sockeye salmon filets
8 ounces spoon sized pasta, cooked al dente (I used this red and white beet pasta for some color, but it doesn’t taste like beets)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions, to al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool; drain well. While the pasta is cooking, pan sear your salmon filets until they are cooked through, to 125F. Set aside to cool completely, then flake into bite-sized chunks. Place onion in a colander or sieve; rinse with cold water. Drain well.
Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper and mayonnaise in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pasta, onion, cucumber, peas, salmon, and dill to dressing; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately or keep chilled until ready to serve.
