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Home » Food

No Recipe Needed: A No-fail Dinner

Published: Nov 9, 2011 Last Updated: Nov 2011 by Lindsay This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and enjoy. 11 Comments

I made this pasta, salmon, and spinach combo last week and WOW had I forgotten how much I love it!  Make this TONIGHT: you probably have many of the ingredients at home already!

This is so delicious!  I'm not going to give you any quantities because this is REALLY the easiest throw-together dinner but with magical, wonderful flavors and a perfect balance of carbs, protein, and vegetables.  There are tons of ways to change it up, too, so get creative with this layering idea and use it often!

Salmon with Spinach and Pasta

I'm not kidding on the options, here!  Mix up the ingredients and you'll never ever get bored - promise!  Have these things for this meal:

  • Pasta - leftovers are easiest, but cook some fresh if you must!
  • Butter
  • Parmesan
  • Black pepper
  • Chicken broth (or water, who cares?)
  • Green vegetable - spinach or kale are my favorites, but any greens would be great with this method!
  • Anchovy paste or fish sauce
  • Red pepper flake
  • Garlic
  • Fish - ½ pound-ish per person
  • Blackening Seasoning - keep a jar on hand or make your own - it lasts forever!
  • Nuts, for serving
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

You'll need three pans - one for the pasta, one for the greens, and one for the fish.  You could make do with just two and heat the pasta in the microwave - why the heck not?

In any event, heat your pans to medium heat.  Use olive oil for the spinach and fish and butter for the pasta - 1 tablespoon of each fat in each pan for every two portions.

All three of these things cook in about 10 minutes including pan heating time, so get your ingredients ready beforehand and do everything all at once - you can't mess it up!

For the pasta, melt the butter slowly with the cooked pasta and a healthy sprinkling of black pepper.

When the butter has melted add ¼ cup of chicken stock.  Keep the pasta warm but not at a boil - the stock will evaporate as the noodles continue to cook through.

Right before serving, add a sprinkle of parmesan to the noodles and toss with tongs, adding more chicken stock if the noodles get too dry.  That's it!

For the greens, heat ½ teaspoon each anchovy paste and red pepper flake in the olive oil.  Anchovy paste does not taste like fish, please do not be afraid of it.  It's what makes Caesar salad taste...Caesary!  It's wonderfully salty and comes in a handy tube that will last in the fridge forever - it's a great thing to keep around to make your food taste really special!

When the anchovy paste dissolves into the oil, add the spinach - remember that greens cook WAY down, so use at least twice as much as you think you'll need - promise!

Let the spinach wilt down for one or two minutes, and mince the garlic.  Add it in when the spinach is half wilted, then turn off the heat and stir in the garlic - it'll cook since the pan is so hot, but we don't want it to burn!

This is really stupidly easy - I'm almost embarrassed.   It's SO easy, in fact, that you can definitely have an extra glass of boxed wine to congratulate yourself on such a fast, healthy meal!

For the fish, pat dry with a paper towel and sprinkle both sides with blackening seasoning.  When the oil is hot in your third pan, cook the fish quickly on both sides - about 3 minutes per side for a ¾ inch piece.  I like to start the noodles and anchovy paste/red pepper for the spinach at the same time and add the fish to its pan when I add the spinach - I find everything gets done at the same time that way.

When you're ready to serve, layer the pasta, then spinach, then fish, and top with nuts (pine, in this case) and serve with lemon wedges.  This is DELICIOUS, healthy, and fast - perfect for a Wednesday or impromptu entertaining.  ENJOY!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. lana

    February 06, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    Will deffinatley try this tonight. Have all ingrediants except anchovie. Will figre something out. We are trying to eat healthier. So any thing that tastes good and is healhy is worth a try. Thanks for this recipe. I will let you know how it went.

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      February 06, 2013 at 12:42 pm

      Anochovy paste is a great ingredient to keep around if you have time to stop at the store and want to try something new! If not, just add a sprinkle extra of salt. Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. canadiantravelmama

    January 30, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    Going to try this tonight! We are into cooking with kale (and other greens) recently! Since I'm not the best cook, I LOVE that you include photos. Seriously, makes me life in the kitchen so much better! Thanks, Lindsay and Jay!

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      January 30, 2012 at 12:57 pm

      Thanks Beth! Let me know how it turns out - kale is nice and forgiving, which works well for people like me who routinely set off the fire alarm. 🙂

      Reply
  3. trixfred30

    November 09, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    Great looking dish - and really professional photos but my favourite is the wine glass - inspired!

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      November 09, 2011 at 3:04 pm

      Haha Jay took that and made some snide comment like "ahh, the glue that holds us together..." It was so funny at the time that I had to share. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Bob McSwain

    November 09, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    Just curious... what ya fixing for the ACA-SoJam-Feeding?

    Reply
  5. frugalfeeding

    November 09, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    Nothing like a good easy dinner - this one looks incredible!

    Reply
  6. Cookery For Two

    November 09, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    My mouth is watering - this looks delish and super easy - great post! : )

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      November 09, 2011 at 2:07 pm

      Thanks! I make some variation of this all the time - it's a great use-up for things but SO delicious and fake-fancy!

      Reply

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Image of Lindsay Howerton-Hastings smiling sitting on dark gray couch wearing chambray blue shirt.

Hi! I'm Lindsay. I'm a maternal mental health therapist, a recipe developer, food writer, and taker of all kinds of pictures. Thank you so much for being here! This blog is about how to take care of yourself and your people without taking anything too seriously.

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