PARSLEY AND CASHEW PISTOU SPAGHETTINI WITH SALMON AND SPINACH

PARSLEY AND CASHEW PISTOU SPAGHETTINI WITH SALMON AND SPINACH

#SIAintheKitchen

Longest title ever, much?

With the coronavirus pandemic affecting the entire world, people have been stocking up like crazy. The aisles at the grocery store have been completely emptied. Toilet paper, bean aisles, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes are completely barren and off the shelves. It’s eerie out there. It feels like the world is ending or something.

In an effort to ensure that this pandemic is controlled, many companies are allowing their staff to work from home including mine and my boyfriend’s companies. Really grateful for the opportunity as we are advised to stay at home and self-quarantine ourselves. The entire practice of social distancing is an odd concept for me yet needed. I’ll be honest - I’ve been going on about life as if this virus exists. I keep remaining positive praying that it’ll go away for my own selfish reasons like my upcoming trip to Europe, dance competitions and more.

It’s now come to the point where any and all social gatherings have been canceled. Two of my upcoming pole dancing competitions have been postponed to the summer months. My trip is still up in the air but even I am now considering canceling some local and over-the-border trips. Sigh. I guess we can’t really escape this. Just gotta stay in until this is all over.

It is, however, a great time to reboot this blog as I took about a month off writing. In an effort to try and teach my boyfriend to cook, we made this pasta lastnight. Starting these cooking lessons reminded me of how much I miss teaching. In the coming months I am hoping to launch my YouTube channel, especially with all this newfound time back at home.

In the meantime, stay safe out there, folks! Stay in and cook.

PARSLEY AND CASHEW PISTOU SPAGHETTINI WITH SALMON AND SPINACH - serves 6 - 8

Pasta

• 1 lb spaghettini

• 1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped into 1” segments

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 10 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 cup dry white wine

• pinch dried red chili flakes

• pinch kosher salt

• 1 cup pasta water

• ½ bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, roughly
  chopped without stems

• 16 oz. salmon, cooked and flaked

• salt + pepper, to taste

Cashew and parsley pistou

• ½ bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped without stems

• 5 cloves garlic, whole

• ½ cup salted cashews

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• pinch kosher salt

1. Bring a large pot of heavily-salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghettini until al dente and reserve 1 cup of starchy pasta water. Place the spinach in a very large serving bowl. Drain the pasta and pour atop the spinach to wilt it. Set aside.

2. While the water is being brought to a bowl, prepare the sauces and pesto. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the garlic and chili flakes and saute until the garlic begins to brown. Add the white wine and de-glaze. Allow for the wine to cook down and reduce by half. Add in the pasta water and keep on a low simmer until ready to toss the pasta together.

3. Meanwhile, in a small food processor, blend the ingredients together for the cashew and parsley pistou. Feel free to add more extra virgin olive oil if needed.

4. Toss the aglio e olio and pesto together with the pasta and toss together. Gently stir in the remaining flat-leaf parsley and flaked salmon. Serve immediately with a side salad.