Homemade Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Sauce

What do you do when you are gifted some of the best smoked salmon in the world? You put it on everything you can find. And then you take the rest of the filet and you make delicious, delicious pasta with it.

This past holiday season Aaron gave me something I have always wanted: a pasta maker. Not just any pasta maker either – an Atlas, the same kind my parents have had for years. It is wonderful and easy to use. The recipe I used for this batch was done by hand, but can also be done in the food processor (and it's easier too). It says pasta for 2-3 and I think it can be more 3-4 depending on what you put in it. If you have super amazing smoked salmon, I recommend this. Even if I never seem to measure anything. You can make a roux, right?

Homemade Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Sauce:

Serves 3-4

Pasta-

1 1/4 c. Flour

2 eggs, room temperature

Pinch of salt

Sauce-

At least 1/2 filet smoked salmon, flaked and bones removed

Roux

Half-and-half or heavy cream

Dill

Salt

Pepper

To make the pasta, either buzz the flour and the salt together in a food processor and then add the eggs one at a time or put the flour on a cutting board or clean counter and make a concave space in the center. Using a fork, mix in the eggs and slowly drag in more flour until you make a dough. In both cases, knead out the dough for a few minutes and set aside to dry.

Using your pasta maker, roll the dough through the widest setting. Fold in half and do this again 8 more times. Then roll the dough through each setting progressively until you reach the thickness you want. Mine is at setting 8. You may need to cut the dough in half as you roll it through as it becomes quite long. Set aside and allow it to try for about 15-20 minutes before rolling it through the cutters.

Once you roll the pasta through the cutters and you have gorgeous noodles, everything else comes together really quickly. You'll want to have your sauce ready to go before you get the noodles boiling as it takes no time at all to cook fresh egg pasta.

To make the sauce, prepare a roux. I like to brown the butter a bit for that slightly nutty flavor. Add in enough half-and-half or cream to make a nice, thick sauce. Add in a good handful of fresh dill or a decent amount of dried. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Add in smoked salmon. Set aside and keep warm.

Get the water boiling and get those noodles in there. They'll be done really, really fast. Add them to the sauce and serve immediately.

This is a dynamite dish and it sounds much more complicated than it actually is. Plus it tastes really, really good.