Salmon with Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Spinach

Clean and simple is the name of the game here. If you are looking for an easy to prepare, nutritious dish with very few ingredients, give this a try.

2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons capers, drained
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned
4-4 oz. salmon filets

In a large bowl, combine garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk together until blended. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions for al dente (in my case, that was a total of 6 minutes). In the last 30 seconds of cooking, throw the spinach leaves into the pasta water to wilt. Drain the pasta and spinach, then place it into the bowl with the lemon juice and zest mixture. Toss to coat. Add the basil and toss again. Set aside.
Sprinkle the salmon with kosher salt and black pepper. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. If the salmon has skin, place it in the hot skillet with the skin side up. If the salmon doesn’t have skin, place it “upside down” first. After 2 minutes, turn the salmon over and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
To serve, place a mound of the pasta spinach mixture on a plate then top it with a piece of salmon. Squeeze additional lemon juice over the top.
Quick Tips
1. The recipe called for the spinach to be placed raw onto the plate, then topped with the hot pasta. This method wilts the spinach a little, but it wasn’t wilted enough for my liking. The method I indicate above will fully wilt the spinach, but if you’d like something in between you could try throwing the spinach in the hot pasta when you add the lemon juice and zest mixture. This will wilt the spinach more than the method outlined in the original recipe, but less than I’ve written here. By now you are probably so confused that you may opt to skip the spinach altogether (don’t do that!).
2. The flavors in this dish are very mild. If you like a bit more punch, consider adding about 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper to the pasta when you toss it with the basil.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

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