Salmon and Cavatappi Pasta Salad with Smoked Paprika + Sriracha Sauce

I’ve been on a read-through-all-my-cookbooks crusade these past few weeks and have stumbled upon a lot of tasty new recipes! For instance, this one from Jamie Oliver was absolutely divine. Super comforting and I have to say it was the best beef pot pie I’ve ever encountered. Also, his unique take on an asparagus and potato tart was a terrific treat to nibble on for lunch. Last week I was in a fungi kind of mood and made Giada’s mushroom ragu, which was also insanely good. After a slow cook-down, the mushrooms melted into one another and made the most luscious, nurturing sauce you can imagine. I served it with cavatappi noodles — the funny little corkscrew ones — and had a ton leftover, which preludes to the recipe herein.

When life hands you noodles, you make…more noodles. And noodle pasta salad.

So this is another one of my “fridge raid” kind of meals, tossing together leftover bits of this and that to create another yummilicious bowl of food for the week. I had just about everything already, except for the salmon, so this was truly super easy to make. With that said, you can obviously substitute things in here that you don’t have and still make it work. The salmon is not crucial (but it’s oh-so delicious!) and you could easily swap it for good olive-oil packed tuna, grilled shrimp, or poached chicken. The sauce is totally adaptable too and you’re free to scale the ingredients up or down depending on your taste buds. I like it spicy so I went crazy with the sriracha sauce. Up to yous.

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil, season with a ton of salt and then drop in the cavatappi noodles, stir and let cook to al dente. Drain and then set aside in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and give it a toss.

Turn on the broiler.

Put the salmon, skin side down on a baking sheet. Pat dry. Season with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over the top and then brush melted butter all over. Put the salmon under the broiler and let it brown and cook for about 8-10 minutes. The fish is done when it gives just slightly to the touch — please don’t overcook the fish. It’s a sin. Let the salmon cool for a bit and then shred into big chunks with a fork. Set it aside.

To make the sauce, combine the mayo, sour cream, mustard, worcestershire sauce, sriracha sauce, smoked paprika, lemon juice, maple syrup, and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix with a whisk. Taste it, adding more spice and seasonings to fit your preference. Set this aside.

Add the sliced red onions to the pasta and then dump in a few tablespoons of the sauce, coating the noodles. Toss everything around carefully. Add in the salmon, chopped parsley, and a few handfuls of whatever greens you have — I used a mix of fresh mache and spring greens, but baby spinach, arugula, or kale would be great in here. Mix again gently and taste it. Season with more salt and pepper if you’d like.

This should keep in the fridge for several days. Eat it cold or at a slight room temperature. It tastes better as it sits, too. Perfect for weekday lunches!

Provecho comrades!