TacoCat (kinda) Cooks! #51: Caramelized Onion Pasta with Crispy Salmon! 😋

Hey Steemit!

We're back with more of our home cooking! If you're unfamiliar with this series, it's where I showcase some of the food we've been making at home since we've been cooking a lot nowadays! Both because it's cheaper and also healthier to cook for yourself compared to eating out. While I usually stick to the usual recipes I do like to try new ones once in a while and figured I'd share the new ones I've tried.

I tried a few different pasta recipes before, but since I made caramelized onions for the burger last time it was soo good with mushrooms that I was wondering how they would pair together with pasta.

These were the ingredients I would be using:

• 300g linguine
• 3 carrots
• enoki mushrooms
• shiitake mushrooms
• 1 big onion
• red spinach
• 240g salmon
• frozen broccoli

For seasoning:

• salt
• black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• paprika

There was a good deal at the supermarket for some salmon so I would be pairing the pasta with my standard pan-fried salmon.

Step 1: Chop the vegetables and mushrooms. For noodles/pasta I like to cut my carrots julienne so it's easier to eat.

Since mushrooms will get smaller when you cook them, I try not to cut them too small.

Step 2: Boil a pot of water and put all the veggies inside. Let them boil for about 10 minutes or so.

Step 3: Slice the salmon into two strips (since I was making two portions), this step is unnecessary if you prefer bigger fillets.

Step 4: Wash and pat dry the salmon fillets. This is to ensure that you get a nice crisp when frying on the pan, since fish cooks fast you won't get much time on the pan so you need to maximise the heat in that short time.

Step 5: Season the salmon with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika on both sides.

Step 6: Once the veggies are boiled, put the pasta in and boil for 3-5 minutes, then drain the pot and set aside.

Step 7: Heat up a wok or a pan with some butter or olive oil, then toss in the onions. Let them heat brown up for a bit, sauteing them every so often.

Step 8: Once the onions have browned up some, toss in the shiitake mushrooms and saute them together as well. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Once they're sufficiently browned set it aside.

Step 9: Time to pan fry the salmon! Place the salmon skin-side down on the pan for about a minute, then flip it over to cook the other side for another minute then flip it back for 1.5 minutes to get a nice crispy skin. Set the salmon aside to rest.

Step 10: With the onions and mushrooms back in the pan, we pour in the pasta mixture and give it all a stir. Add salt and pepper if needed, or some chili oil if you'd prefer more spice. The salmon is already well seasoned though so be mindful.

Step 11: Once the pasta is all mixed, it's time to plate! I laid the pasta on the plates then topped it with the salmon and garnished with some herbs.

It looked and smelled so delicious! The salmon is also perfectly cooked to medium just how we like it.

The salmon was crispy on the top and juicy in the middle, and wasn't dry at all. The pasta was nicely cooked and the enoki mushrooms actually felt like there were thinner noodles in there to give a nice contrast in texture. I think I should've added some chili flakes to the pasta though since it might've been a bit bland.

The pasta actually didn't taste too different compared to when I just cooked it without the caramelized onions. I thought it would add a lot more flavour but it was actually quite subtle. I think I should've added garlic as well as that might've been what gave the burger that nice flavour.

Either way it was still a very delicious meal nonetheless and I learned of a slightly different way to make my favourite pasta dish! I'll definitely try out different variations as I keep cooking to find what works best.

Thanks for reading!

To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!

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Check out my previous post in this series!
TacoCat (kinda) Cooks! #50: Delicious Seafood Tofu Stew! 😋