Smoked Salmon Pasta Carbonara

Healthy and simple Smoked Salmon Pasta Carbonara. Made with five simple ingredients and ready in 10 minutes. It's a quick and good weeknight meal that's creamy (without any cream), luxurious and packed full of flavour! A little twist on a classic pasta carbonara.

Smoked salmon carbonara is a fun twist on a classic and traditional carbonara which is made with guanciale (cured pig jowl).

Although the authentic recipe is insanely good and solid as it is, we love to experiment in the kitchen and swapping the guanciale for smoked salmon was one good experiment!

The sauce uses the same technique as the traditional recipe creating the creaminess from eggs and cheese (we used Parmigiano Reggiano instead of pecorino here).

The whole recipe is rich and creamy with a luxurious feel to it (think Christmas and special occasions) whilst remaining quick, easy and pretty inexpensive.

See the full recipe below with step by step photos and tips!

Step by step photos and recipe instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the linguine or long pasta shape of your choice. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions until al dente.

Meanwhile, cut the smoked salmon into thin strips and finely chop some fresh parsley (this is optional but we think it adds a nice freshness to the pasta).

Next, add the eggs to a bowl and whisk together, add the grated parmesan and a good pinch of salt and pepper, stir to combine.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it back into the pot you cooked it in. Sprinkle over the strips of salmon then add the whisked eggs and parmesan mixture, immediately stir the pasta to coat it evenly in egg and to distribute the salmon throughout the pasta evenly.

Tip: wait exactly 1 minute before pouring over the egg mixture. If the pasta is too hot the eggs will scramble but if it's too cool the eggs will remain raw.

The pasta should be creamy and evenly coated in sauce. Divide the smoked salmon pasta between bowls and top with a scattering of chopped parsley and an extra grinding of pepper, serve.

This has got to be one of the simplest and quickest pasta recipes out there, it is so easy to make and you can't go wrong as long as you use our tip above to prevent the eggs from scrambling.

Eggs to pasta ratio

We've seen and made many pasta carbonara recipes in our time and we find that using 1 egg less as many servings works best. Does that make sense? For four servings we use 400g/14oz of pasta (100g per portion) and 3 eggs.

We've seen recipes that use as many as 6 eggs for 4 servings and that is just wayyyy too much egg for our liking, we don't like the taste. For us, the ratio we've used works perfectly. The egg coats the pasta and no more, it's creamy, silky and exactly how it should be.

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

• 14.1 oz linguine pasta, or similar ((400g))
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 5.2 oz smoked salmon ((150g))
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the linguine or long pasta shape of your choice. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, cut the smoked salmon into thin strips and finely chop some fresh parsley (this is optional but we think it adds a nice freshness to the pasta).

3. Next, add the eggs to a bowl and whisk together, add the grated parmesan and a good pinch of salt and pepper, stir to combine.

4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it back into the pot you cooked it in. Sprinkle over the strips of salmon then add the whisked eggs and parmesan mixture, immediately stir the pasta to coat it evenly in egg and to distribute the salmon throughout the pasta evenly.

5. Tip: wait exactly 1 minute before pouring over the egg mixture. If the pasta is too hot the eggs will scramble but if it's too cool the eggs will remain raw.

6. The pasta should be creamy and evenly coated in sauce. Divide the smoked salmon pasta between bowls and top with a scattering of chopped parsley and an extra grinding of pepper, serve.

Kitchen notes

• You could use chives instead of parsley.
• Make sure you wait about 1 minute before adding the eggs so they don't scramble.
• This pasta is best eaten immediately, it doesn't reheat or freeze well.