Ladies and gentlemen - it has happened. After long Instagram admiration and countless recipe re-pins on Pinterest, I have finally gone and gotten myself a spiralizer (specifically, the GEFU Spirelli)! This can only mean one thing: SPIRALIZE ALL THE THINGS! Courgetti galore! However, I happen to live with a very meat-loving Danish boyfriend, who is not at all as excited as I am about the general idea of “green stuff”, let alone vegetable noodles - why unnecessarily up the daily intake of healthy stuff when you could just as well eat delicious “real” pasta, he asks. But I’m nothing if not persistent, so I went and made this dinner for us one day recently. I have made similar pasta dishes with regular, wheat pasta before, so I thought I could sneak one by him and secretly mix in some veggies without him noticing. And, what do you know, his exact words were: “I didn’t think this would be super awesome with all the green stuff, but this is actually really good!” For me, that’s the ultimate seal of approval. Whoop!
Instead of going in full-on courgetti, I mixed them with a pack of veggie pasta - it’s called “grøntsagsbånd”, from Pastella, and you can buy it in most supermarkets (even Netto has them). They are made with 40% vegetables, so that’s a good way to add some more veggies to your dinner as well. If you can’t get your hands on these, I’d substitute some fresh tagliatelle.
I also really like creamy sauces, but often find heavy cream too, well, heavy! So I mostly use Rama’s Cremefine, which I find gives the same results in terms of taste and creaminess, but feels much lighter - and has fewer calories! All in all, this pasta dish is full of fresh aromas, with a bit of lemony zing, and the white wine adds a nice depth to the flavor mix.
For this post, I’ve teamed up with my good friend from Les Grand Chais de France, a French wine producer. They were the ones that invited me to the private wine tasting a couple of weeks ago. They import French wines to Danish restaurants, stores, and also supermarkets such as Irma, Føtex, or Kvickly. Together with her, I’ve picked out a great wine to both be used in and to be enjoyed alongside this dish. The best part is that you can buy it at your local supermarket at a really fair price - see the wine recommendation below!
Veggie and salmon pasta in lemon cream sauce
(serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main)
250g salmon (2 fillets, frozen or raw)
250g (1 package) grøntsagsbånd pasta
1 medium courgette
1 cup shredded carrots
250ml Rama Cremefine 7%
100ml white wine (see wine recommendation below)
juice of 1 lemon
Cut the salmon into small pieces. In a big pan, heat a bit of oil or butter and add the salmon, frying for a couple of minutes until cooked. Add salt and pepper. When the salmon is cooked, at the white wine and lemon juice and let simmer for a bit. In the meantime, using a spiralizer, cut the courgette into spaghetti-like strings. In a separate pot, bring some water to a boil, add some salt, and cook the vegetable pasta for one minute, as per instructions. Add shredded carrots and courgetti to the pan and let simmer for a little longer (3-4 minutes). Just before serving, add the vegetable pasta and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Wine recommendation:
You’ll be needing some wine for cooking, so seeing as you already have a bottle open - why not enjoy a glass alongside this dish for a lovely spring dinner, maybe even outside in the garden or on the balcony? My friend Annai from Les Grands Chais de France recommends the 2014 Domaine de la Baume Viognier (more). It matures on the lees for three weeks, giving it a nice volume and a buttery flavor, which goes nicely with a more fatty fish like salmon. It has notes of apricots and white peach, giving a balance to the lemon. I really like this wine, both on its own and with this dish. You can find it at Kvickly for around DKK 70.
This post contains affiliate links. The wine for this post was kindly provided by Les Grands Chais de France, Denmark. I have received no other compensation for this post. As per usual, all opinions expressed are my own.
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