Lazy Weekend Meal; Salmon Miso Cream Pasta

Weekend is here again and it will be quite an exciting one for me and my family since we have visitors from overseas coming today. It's actually a close friend of mine whom I had the pleasure to know when I was staying in KL. In fact, she is the first friend I know when I was there! Our friendship didn't dampen even when I had moved back to Singapore for more then 2 years now. Really hope we can cherish and enjoy this friendship as long as we can, because it is not easy to find one as we all know. Looking forward to seeing them later!

Lately, I've fallen in love with this new chef (MASA), eh..specifically his cookbooks, haha! I found the first copy, "Joy of cooking at MASA's place" at the library and from then on, I just couldn't stop looking at the book! It's simple Japanese cuisine, taught step by step with simple ingredients that you can find. So in today post, I'm showing you all an easy pasta dish from his book, Salmon Miso Cream Pasta. It's sort of an infused Jap-Italian dish, super nice. Whether you like it for lunch or dinner, I am sure it will satisfy your appetite. ;)

Ingredients for Salmon Miso Cream Pasta (Serves 3-4)
400g spaghetti
2 fillets of salmon, approximately 400-500g
1 tbsp butter
5-6 garlic, sliced thinly
12-14 asparagus, washed and trimmed the tough part
4 medium Portabella, sliced thin (brown button mushrooms can be used as replacement)
2 tbsp miso paste (any brand you prefer)
400ml heavy cream for cooking
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
shredded nori for deco (optional)

• In a saute pan, add the butter and heat up at medium low heat. Add the salmon and pan fry till golden brown. Should not take long, probably 5 minutes, depending on your salmon piece size.
• Once the salmon is cooked, remove from the pan and let cool for 5 minutes. Then flake the fish, remove bones and skin if there is.
• In a big pot, boil some water for cooking the spaghetti. Cook the pasta till al-dente and drain out. Set aside for use later.
• To make the miso cream sauce, heat the cream in the microwave oven for a minute and then stir in the miso paste. Whisk if needed till well combined.
• 
• In another pot, add in 1 tsp oilve oil, and saute the garlic slices till fragrant. Then add in the asparagus, cook for a minute then add in the portabella. Stir for a while till the mushrooms have wilted a little. Pour in the miso cream mixture and stir till well combined. Lastly, add in the flaked salmon and stir well.
• 
• Add in the pasta as before you are serving, stir till well combined and dish up and eat while it is still warm. Bon appetit!

A simple yet delicious meal to prepare for your love ones. The salty miso mellows out with the cream and it also brings out the sweetness of the asparagus. It all went well with the musky taste of the portabella mushrooms...simply divine! My girl whom is not too fond of asparagus, ate up the whole plate with no complains and said it's the best pasta ever, lol!

Hope this post will inspire you to try it out and cook for your dear ones this weekend. ;) Cheers!