Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Linguine

                                             Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Linguine


It's fast approaching Valentine's Day so I've been trying to put together a few recipes for a romantic dinner at home.  This pasta dish will only take you minutes to prepare & cook and is sure to impress your sweetheart. This will serve 2 healthy portions for a main course but you can halve the quantities for a starter sized dish.

Ingredients:-

6oz/175gms Packet of Smoked Salmon (pre-sliced) 
4oz /250 gms of dry linguine or similar pasta
a bunch of fresh asparagus (woody parts trimmed away)
7oz/200 gms Cream Cheese (I used Philly light)
splash of olive oil
grated zest of half a lemon & 2tsps of lemon juice
chopped chives or dill to finish

Method:-

Chop the tender stalks of the asparagus leaving the spear tips whole
Save 2 small slices of smoked salmon and roll  them up to form a rose as in the picture above
Chop the rest into strips
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water as per  packet instructions (usually around 7-8 minutes)
Add the asparagus to the same pan a couple of minutes before the end of cooking
Strain the pasta and reserve around 1 cup of the cooking water
Separate the asparagus spears for decorating the dish
Place the cup of cooking water back into the pan...add the cream cheese, olive oil,  lemon zest & juice
Stir to make a sauce ...do not boil it though
Add the chopped smoked salmon and the pasta to the pan stir through and plate onto warm dishes immediately
Decorate with the asparagus spears and the smoked salmon rose ....sprinkle with chives
Serve ... with a little green side salad and some warm ciabatta