Salmon tagliatelle with tomato cream and basil

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 fresh salmon cutlets (approx. 2 cm thick, approx. 600 g)
• 300 g tagliatelle, fresh
• 1 jar of tomatoes, pureed (300 g)
• 1 cup of sweet cream (200 g)
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 1 bunch of basil
• 40 g butter
• 1 lemon(s), the juice
• 1 tbsp brandy (e.g. Chantré)
• salt and pepper
• Sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Drizzle the salmon cutlets with lemon juice on both sides and let stand for 5 minutes. Trim and finely slice the spring onions, and tear the basil leaves. Melt 20g of butter in a pan, season the salmon cutlets with salt, and braise them in the butter over low heat for 2 minutes on each side. The fish should not brown. Remove the salmon cutlets and set aside to cool. Add the passata to the pan with the cooking fat, pour in the cream, stir in salt, pepper, a dash of lemon juice, and the brandy. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, use a knife to pull the skin off the salmon cutlets, cut the cutlets into larger pieces, and remove the central bone and the long bones on the narrow inner sides. The salmon should shred easily and come away from the bones, but not fall apart—then it’s done. Return the salmon to the tomato cream, add 1/3 of the basil and half of the spring onions, mix, and simmer for 5 minutes without boiling. Season to taste with salt, sugar, and lemon. Add plenty of salt to the pasta water, let the tagliatelle simmer in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, then drain. Melt 20g of butter into the hot pasta pot, then toss in 1/3 of the basil leaves. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with the basil butter. Serve the hot pasta with the salmon sauce in warm, deep bowls, sprinkle with the remaining spring onions and basil. This recipe uses salmon cutlets, which take two minutes more work to cook but are much juicier than salmon fillets – and much cheaper.