Penne al Salmone with Vodka

Treat yourself with this Penne al Salmone, featuring luscious smoked salmon tucked into a delicate creamy sauce. This is a classic Italian recipe that is surprisingly easy to make at home!

You’re going to need some Baguette Garlic Bread to make the most of the mouth-watering sauce in this recipe. Maybe pair it with a Side Salad as well to get your greens in? 

Jump to:

• Why Make This Recipe
• 🥗 Ingredients
• 🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
• Storage Tips
• 🧐 Recipe FAQs for Penne al Salmone
• 👩‍🍳 Expert Tips
• Other Delicious Pasta Dishes
• 📖 Recipe
• More About Molly

Why Make This Recipe

• A truly luxurious meal—rich with heavy cream and smoky salmon, but brightened up with tomato paste and lemon juice
• Quick and easy to make: can be done in under 30 minutes
• Restaurant-caliber dining at your own home
• The perfect date night recipe

🥗 Ingredients

• Penne Pasta: Of course penne is in the name of this dish, but you could choose a different pasta shape to serve with the same salmon cream sauce. 
• White Onion: We love the mild flavor of a white onion, but you could replace with a Vidalia onion or a regular yellow onion. 
• Smoked Salmon: We prefer cold-smoked salmon for this recipe. Hot smoked salmon has a different flavor and texture, but you could use that if you prefer. 
• Butter: Either salted or unsalted butter works just fine. You will adjust the total salt content to taste. You could also substitute extra virgin olive oil. 
• Vodka: You can leave this out if you don’t have it, or replace with a dry white wine or vermouth. See FAQs for why we prefer vodka.
• Heavy Cream: The decadence of this sauce is really due to the heavy cream, so we don’t recommend substituting light cream or milk. 
• Pepper: Both white pepper and black pepper are delicious in this dish. 
• Chives: Chives are a perfect pairing with smoked salmon, but really almost any fresh herbs would work as well. Try fresh basil, fresh dill, or fresh parsley. 

🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 pound penne pasta and cook according to package instructions—until just barely fully cooked. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and set aside.

Step 2: While pasta is cooking, peel ½ of a white onion and finely chop. Peel 1 garlic clove, then mince. Slice 6 ounces smoked salmon into small pieces.

Step 3: Add 2 tablespoons butter to a 12-inch nonstick pan and cook over medium-low heat, until melted. Add chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until softened and just starting to brown around the edges, around 8-10 minutes.

Step 4: Stir 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste into onion mixture, then pour in 2 ounces vodka. Cook until vodka evaporates, about 1 minute.

Step 5: Add 16 ounces heavy cream and put over medium heat. When sauce begins to bubble, turn heat down a little bit, and simmer for 7 minutes or until slightly reduced. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Taste, and add more salt or pepper as desired.

Step 6: Stir in cooked penne pasta, and drizzle in ¼ cup of pasta water. Toss until all pasta is coated in the sauce, adding in more pasta water if necessary. When penne is warmed through in the sauce, stir in smoked salmon.

Serve immediately, garnished with 2 tablespoons chopped chives and grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. 

Storage Tips

Pasta will keep for 2-3 days refrigerated in an airtight container. However, pasta will dry out as the penne noodles continue to absorb more of the sauce. You may want to add a spoonful or two of water to your bowl of penne al salmone when reheating it. Stir well, and reheat gently in the microwave or stovetop. 

🧐 Recipe FAQs for Penne al Salmone

👩‍🍳 Expert Tips

This dish is best served right away, as the penne pasta will continue to absorb the sauce even after it is off the heat. If the sauce begins to dry up, you can add a little bit of water or more heavy cream to make it creamier again. 

Don’t be afraid to heavily season the sauce when you taste it before adding the pasta—the cooked penne will dilute the taste quite a bit. Of course, you can always season more lightly and adjust after all of the ingredients have been added. You may also want to add more lemon juice for a brighter flavor. 

We love the contrast of fresh chopped smoked salmon next to the salmon that has been heated in the penne dish. Reserve a bit of your smoked salmon to sprinkle over the top, rather than stirring all of it in. 

Want to use a fresh salmon fillet instead of smoked salmon to make this creamy salmon pasta? Cut into small chunks and cook in the sauce before adding the penne back in to warm. 

Love smoked salmon as much as we do? You might also want to check out this easy recipe for Smoked Salmon Asparagus Pasta— a delicious dish when you’re craving something a little lighter. If you have leftover smoked salmon from this recipe, try using it in an appetizer like these Smoked Salmon Potato Chips and these Smoked Salmon Canapés. 

Other Delicious Pasta Dishes

Penne al Salmone is a favorite of pasta lovers and lovers of Italian cuisine. If that's you, you might want to try this easy Baked Mostaccioli next. Or try one of these pasta recipes:

If you try this easy Penne al Salmone recipe, we would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to us.

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