Creamy Angel Hair Pasta Topped with Freshly Caught Salmon

I recently cooked the best angel hair pasta dish of my life, so it's only fair I share the recipe with you all. For fall break, my friends and I stayed at Stories by the Sea, a beautiful beach house located in quaint North TopSail Beach, North Carolina. TopSail beach is a secluded, pristine beach which is perfect for families, friends, and couples. 

Not to mention this four story house is the perfect setting for making memorable beachfront meals. The kitchen was well stocked with spices galore and great quality pots and pans to make any cook's heart happy. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of cooking supplies I had access to in a rental beach home. There was even a picnic table on the ocean facing deck with million dollar views and pleasant ocean breezes, which made for some memorable meals. My beach bum/foodie heart was bursting with happiness. 

Angel Hair Pasta Topped with Salmon

• Prep Time:25 mins
• Cook Time:40 mins
• Total Time:1 hr 5 mins
• Servings:8
• Medium

Ingredients

• 1 box angel hair pasta
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 16 ounces cherry tomatoes sliced or quartered
• 16 ounces mushrooms sliced or diced
• 10 ounces baby spinach
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 8 ounces parmesan cheese
• 1.5 pounds fresh salmon
• 4 tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish
• 1 small lemon sliced in rounds for garnish
• 4 tablespoons Lawry's cracked pepper garlic and herb rub
• 4 tablespoons Lawry's garlic rosemary and lemon rub
• Salt and pepper

• Step 1

  Cook pasta according to box directions.

  

• Step 2

  In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are transluscent, 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

  

• Step 3

  Add mushrooms and stir for another 5 minutes.

  

• Step 4

  Add spinach and cover with lid for 3 minutes, or enough time to allow the spinach to wilt. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cherry tomatoes and stir for about 10 minutes to allow tomatoes to soften.

  

• Step 5

  Add milk and parmesan and cover with lid for 2 minutes.

  

• Step 6

  Add cooked pasta to the pot and stir. Add 2 tablespoons of each Lawry's spice.

  

• Step 7

  Mix the remaining Lawry's spices together and season all sides of the salmon pieces. Pan fry the salmon on medium heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes on each side depending on thickness. My pieces of salmon were about 1 inch in thickness and cooked fairly quickly.

  

• Step 8

  Add salmon to the top of the pasta and garnish with lemon slices and cilantro.

  

If you are not a salmon lover, you can substitute it with your favorite protein such as chicken or shrimp. The best thing about this pasta recipe is that it is so versatile and will pair nicely with any protein of your liking. The hardest part will be choosing a protein because there are so many and every one of them pairs nicely with this dish.

If you are staying at the beach when making this pasta, I highly encourage you to find a local seafood market for fish. I went to the Surf City Fresh Seafood Market, which was about a 10 minute drive from our rental home. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of options I had. Starting my morning off at the fresh market was delightful and made the entire process of cooking even more enjoyable. 

This pasta dish was a big hit with my friends and a great way to end our beach weekend getaway.