This Mediterranean-inspired salmon pasta dish is so full of flavor and lots of ingredients from the Mediterranean diet. It’s an easy way to do something a little different with salmon. And it’s a perfect recipe to make when you have leftover salmon.
One of my favorite things about this salmon pasta dish is that even though it has many ingredients, there’s virtually no work involved, because they all come out of a can or jar!
You literally just have to drain them and put them in the pan. Easy peasy!
Salmon is full of heart and brain-healthy omega-3 fats. It’s also low in mercury. And even though many people worry about only eating wild salmon, it’s pretty easy to find farmed salmon that’s raised sustainably. Farmed salmon is quite healthy, and it’s a really good option for when wild salmon is out of season.
But seriously, sometimes I get tired of the same old grilled or poached salmon. When I have leftover cooked salmon and some time on my hands (at the same time, which is rare), I do enjoy salmon cakes. But most of the time, I’ll just grill or poach it and eat it. I tend to add leftover salmon to a salad the next day.
Recently, I found a recipe for pasta with salmon. I made a few tweaks to use a few more vegetables (most of which come out of a can or jar). I also used one of my favorite secret ingredients — pesto.
Pesto works so well with the other flavors in this pasta dish. It’s full of artichokes, olives, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and a few handfuls of arugula stirred in at the end. So many delicious flavors.
This salmon pasta keeps well for an extra day in the fridge and tastes just as delicious the next day. You can even eat it cold the next day for lunch.
Mediterranean-Inspired Salmon Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 ounces salmon
- salt and pepper
- 8 ounces bowtie pasta
- ⅓ cup prepared pesto
- 1 cup drained, marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers, chopped
- ¼ cup pitted green olives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, sliced
- 3 cups baby arugula
Instructions
Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Cook the salmon on a hot grill for about 8 minutes or in an oven at 350°F for about 12 minutes, until it’s opaque and flakes easily. Remove it from the heat and set it aside.
While the salmon cooks, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta. Add salt to taste. Drain the pasta when it’s al dente, reserving ½ cup of the pasta water.
In the empty pasta pan, add the pesto, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, olives, sundried tomatoes and about ¼ cup of the pasta water. Heat it over medium high heat and add the cooked pasta.
Stir in additional pasta water as desired, to make a sauce. Add the arugula by the handful. Stir it in so it wilts.
Turn off the heat. Flake the salmon and stir it into the pasta. Stir to combine everything and serve.
