Smoky Wok

There is nothing as easy, filling and delicious as pasta - I've been craving for some simple aglio olio spaghetti for a bit and finally decided to make it today.  I paired the pasta with some crispy skinned salmon fillets which was a great combination and of course this only applies if you also love salmon like me.  I simply rubbed the salmon with some sea salt and olive oil before frying the fish as the salmon fillets I bought were extremely fresh and really, with such good quality seafood/ fish, you don't have to add much for the dish to turn out delicious.  For the spaghetti, instead of using the traditional red chili flakes, I sliced up some bird's eye chili peppers instead as apart from liking the spicy fragrance they impart -they were handy.




Today's dish just a very simple and delicious plus pretty combination you can whip up in almost no time and can play around with as you fancy.  Just be sure to use the freshest seafood you can find and the only seasoning you'll need is probably salt, well in this case at least. 





Serves 4

For the pasta

Ingredients:

500g spaghetti, boiled according to package instructions (I like to use lightly salted water to boil)
8 cloves garlic, sliced
3 bird's eye chili peppers, sliced (optional)
2 tablespoons salt or to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil or more if needed
Dash of white wine (optional)

Method:

Once the spaghetti has been cooked to your liking, drain and set aside. 

In a large pan, heat up the olive oil.  Turn heat to low and add garlic and chili peppers.  Fry until aromatic but do not allow garlic to brown.  Add 1 tablespoon of salt.  Add dash of wine.

Quickly add in the drained pasta from earlier into the pan.  Turn heat up to medium at least and start coating the pasta well with the garlic/ pepper mixture.  Taste a strand of spaghetti, if needed add the other tablespoon of salt or until it suits your taste.  Remember that you can always serve the pasta with salt at the table so it's better to under rather than overdo this step.

Once the pasta is well coated, remove from heat and set aside to be served with the salmon.

For the salmon:

Ingredients:

400g of salmon fillets
2 tablespoons sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, or more if needed

Fresh lemon wedges, to serve with

Method:

Rinse the fillets and pat dry with paper towels.  Lightly score the skin with a sharp knife.  Rub with salt and olive oil. 

Heat a non-stick pan until hot.  Gently place the rubbed fillets, skin-side down and fry on high heat for at least 3 minutes before turning.  Fry the other side until cooked or almost fully cooked depending on your preferences.  Give the other two sides that do not directly touch the pan a little frying as well to achieve that delicious charred look.  Serve hot with the pasta from earlier.