Smoked Salmon Carbonara – No time to sit, nowhere to sit

I had laid my hands on a nice piece of smoked salmon. That is, I had fallen victim of subtle retailing tactics. I am a sucker when it comes to buying good food. “Something around one and a half kilos?”  Lisa, she of George’s Fish Shop, had suggested to me. Not wanting to look mean or less than masculine, I of course, accented.

A week later, we already had smoked salmon and brown bread, smoked salmon salad and smoked salmon and poached egg. So I needed to do something different to avoid attracting the ire of the Wife for getting such an over-large side of salmon. Given my previous carbonara attempt using lactose free cream and enough pasta to feed an army, I thought I would try to redeem myself by cooking this quick, easy recipe. Quick, that is if you are not trying to photograph the proceedings. Easy, if you are not making it up as you go along…

Se here’s my recipe for Simple Smoked Salmon Carbonara. The list of ingredients is pretty short so here you go:

• About 150 gms of best quality smoked salmon
• 2 free range eggs beaten seasoned with loads of black pepper and a little salt
• A generous handful of grated parmesan cheese
• A generous handful of chopped parsley
• 100 gms of flour, a drizzle of excellent olive oil and an egg for making the pasta.

First, cut fine slices of smoked salmon. To do this, you will need a very sharp knife and a good eye. I can confidently tell you that I have one of the two.

The sharp knife is only half the equipment needed. A steady hand and a good eye help too.

Next, make the pasta. I have shown you this before, so there is little need for detailed explanations. Also, I don’t have the time to get into explanations, she wants to be fed quickly.

Pasta ingredients. What could be simpler. Egg, flour and olive oil?

Egg, olive oil and flour.

Whisk it until it gets too thick and gloopy to whisk.

Why did the baker sell the business? He kneaded the dough!

When finished, wrap the dough in cling film and pop it in the fridge for half an hour. Then boil a big pot of water. While this is coming to the boil, break the pasta into suitable size pieces and put it through the pasta machine.

The dough goes through the pasta machine. not once, not twice, not three times but four times to get it nice and thin.

At this stage, the Wife wants feeding. Thankfully, there is only ten minutes to go.

Last step before boiling it for a few minutes.

I had to give up my chair to the pasta hanging.

My pasta hanging on a chair.

Nowhere to sit. So I decided to buy some time by pouring a glass of wine. This little something was chosen because it was the only one in the fridge and also because it would go with the dish.

While waiting for te water to boil, I bought time by opening a nice drop.

Next boil the pot of water, add the pasta and cook for a couple of minutes. Drain it and put it back into the hot pot. Add the whisked egg and stir it for a bit until the egg is nearly cooked. Then add the salmon, parmesan and parsley. Stir it well and then serve it to yourself and the hungry Wife (not in that order).

Served standing up. There was not enough time to clear away the pasta machine.

I took a little time to photo mine as soon as I served the Wife. The chair was covered in flour and stuff so I ate mine standing up. Not that I was standing for long. Try it. It was pretty excellent.