Lined Penne, and a Salmon and Herb Sauce for Them

Penne Rigate are one of the mainstays of the Italian pasta scene, perhaps because they're one of the finest foils imaginable for a chunky sauce, be it meat or vegetable based. They also hold up well to baking, and are therefore one of the standard ingredients in baked pasta dishes. In fact, you can make almost any lasagna recipe with penne if you have to.

They're about 1 1/2 inches long (3.5 cm), have ridged walls, and are cut on a slant, which helps them to catch and trap sauce. The cooking time is about 11 minutes.

Possible substitutions: A great many, including mezze penne, pipette, tortiglioni, mezze maniche, sedani, rigatoni, ziti, and penne lisce (smooth sided penne).

A recipe? Smoked salmon is a very popular ingredient in pasta sauces, and since it is forceful tends to play a predominant role, without much in the way of tomato or other ingredients that might clash with it. This doesn't mean that there aren't many variations on the theme, however. This particular wone calls for cream and basil. To serve 4:

• 14 ounces (350 g) penne rigate (lined penne)
• 1/2 pound (200 g) smoked salmon, thinly sliced and cut into thin strips
• A small bunch parsley, minced
• 2-3 basil leaves, shredded
• 2/5 cup (100 ml) cream
• The juice of a lemon, strained
• A shot of vodka
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Half a scallion, minced

Set pasta water to boil, and when it does salt it and cook the pasta. In the meantime, heat the oil in a broad skillet and sauté the scallion until it is golden, taking care lest it overbrown. Add the salmon, stir it about, and add the vodka; cook until the vodka has evaporated and then add the cream, lemon juice, and herbs, and check seasoning. Remove from the fire and keep warm; when the pasta is done season it with the sauce and serve it at once.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

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