New Year's Resolution Skinny Salmon Pasta

serves 3-4

Most of us make three New Year's resolutions:  (1) to eat healthier and  less fattening food; (2) to eat more foods rich in Omega-3 and (3) to get more exercise.

Here is my adaptation of a recipe that will help you fulfill the first and second resolutions.  The last one is still up to you!

Instead of using all cream for the pasta sauce, I used half cream and half buttermilk (you can also use all buttermilk).  Instead of using all pasta, I mixed the pasta with equal amounts of onion and bulb fennel strips. The result was a lighter dish that was very satisfying, with probably half  the calories.  Curry powder and fresh lemon (juice and zest) give it a lively flavor without being overpowering.

Prepare Onion and Fennel Strips:

• Peel the yellow onion and cut it into thin strips (about the same diameter as the pasta that you will use).
• Remove the core from a bulb fennel and cut it into strips the same size as the onion strips.
• Sauté the onions and fennel strips separately in olive oil until tender.
• Set aside until the pasta is cooked.

Prepare Lemony Curry Sauce:

• In a small saucepan add about 2/3 cup heavy cream and 2/3 cup buttermilk.
  
• Add juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon.
• Whisk in 1/2 TBS curry powder and 1/2 tsp ground ginger (add more or less of these spices to your taste).
• Cook sauce slowly, stirring frequently, until it is reduced by about half.

Cook Pasta:

• I used about a 1" diameter bundle of perciatelli -- a thin, tube-like spaghetti past.  (You should have equal amounts of cooked pasta and onion-fennel strips.)
  
• Cook pasta until tender, drain and return to the same pan.
  
• Add the pre-cooked onion and fennel strips and mix thoroughly with the pasta.  Heat together until vegetables are warm.
  
• Add the curry sauce to the pasta-vegetable mixture and mix well.

Broil Salmon:

• While the pasta is cooking broil the salmon, which you brush with olive oil and season with lemon pepper, zest from 1/2 a lemon.  Try to use a thin fillet (with skin on) rather than a thick steak.  The fillet will cook more evenly in the broiler (5-7 minutes).

To Serve:

• Place pasta mixture in a warm, shallow bowl and top with flaked pieces of broiled salmon (without skin).
• A green salad and a glass of rose complete an easy Sunday supper!