Tagliatelle with wood smoked ocean trout

We had been exploring the coastline between Ballina and Evan Head by driving along the beach. It was going to be late afternoon by the time we got home so we needed something simple and quick for dinner.

We knew there was some ocean trout in the fridge and we also had a packet of fresh lasagna sheets, so we figured if we called into the IGA on the way back for some cherry tomatoes we'd be set. It was a winner.

Servings

2

Time

Really quick, a few minutes to prepare and then once the water is boiling, less than 5 minutes to cook.

Equipment (main)

• Deep pan
• Large saucepan (for pasta)
• Colander 
• Chopping boards and knife
• Tongs (I find tongs are the best utensil to manage pasta such as spaghetti, linguini etc.)

Ingredients

• Pasta (instead of tagliatelle, I cut the lasagna sheets into strips. Rule of thumb is 100g of pasta per person, the lasagna packet was 375g so I used half and saved the rest for another meal.)
• Salt (for pasta water)
• Oil, a generous glug (for sautéing tomatoes)
• Half a punnet of whole cherry tomatoes
• 4x cloves of garlic, chopped
• Decent splash of white wine (I keep as cask of Banrock Station sauvignon blanc in the cupboard for incidental uses like this and for risotto)
• Packet of ocean trout (or hot smoked salmon) broken apart
• Big handful of baby rocket

Method

1. Assemble ingredients

2. Bring salted water to boil in a large pot.

3. Heat oil in pan (medium heat)

4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al denté (if using fresh pasta be careful it doesn't boil over - it will only take a couple of minutes. If using dried pasta, check the packet, but usually about 11 minutes)

5. Just before the pasta is done, throw the cherry tomatoes into the hot oil, and move them around so they are coated with oil.

6. Drain the pasta in the colander in the sink (you will be multitasking at this point :-))

7. Scrape the chopped garlic from the chopping board into the pan and swish around. Be careful not to leave the garlic in too long before the next step otherwise it will burn.

8. Add the pasta, trout and rocket to the pan. Add enough wine to ensure the dish is moist. Give it 30 seconds or so to heat the wine, then turn off the heat and fold together gently.

9. Serve with tongs and a serving spoon if necessary.