Penne With Salmon Puttanesca

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 3/4 lb penne rigate or 3/4 lb other ridged tubular pasta
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb skinless center-cut salmon fillet
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup kalamata olive, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon drained capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely shredded basil leaves

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until it’s barely al dente.
• 2 drain, reserving 1 1/4 cups of the cooking water.
• 3 meanwhile, in a very large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
• 4 season the salmon with salt and pepper, add it to the skillet and cook over high heat until browned on both sides but not cooked through, about 6 minutes.
• 5 transfer the salmon to a plate and pour off the oil in the skillet.
• 6 add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet along with the garlic and crushed red pepper.
• 7 cook over moderate heat until the garlic is lightly browned in spots, about 30 seconds.
• 8 add the tomatoes and cook until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 9 add 1 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water and bring to a boil, gently crushing the tomatoes.
• 10 add the pasta, olives and capers and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the liquid is slightly absorbed, about 2 minutes.
• 11 add the salmon to the skillet and break it up into chunks.
• 12 cook, tossing, until the salmon is nearly cooked through and the pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes; add more of the pasta cooking water if the sauce is dry.
• 13 stir in the basil, transfer the pasta to bowls and serve.