This recipe is all about simplicity and freshness. With fresh basil, garlic, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, capers and fresh salmon. It feels like you have summer on a plate. And it happens to be healthy!

And to too it off, for a tiny bit of decadence, we'll sprinkle some extra virgin olive oil loving on it. There's no cream sauce to carry it so this is all about the goodness and tastiness of high quality olive oil mixed with fresh, awesome flavours.

Shall we?

Start off by cooking the pasta. You can use any kind of pasta you like. Spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, pappardelle or tube-type pastas. I went with rigatoni for this recipe. If you want it even healthier, sub whole wheat pasta instead.

While the pasta cooks, season your salmon fillets with salt and pepper to taste and bake it until cooked. Baking and cutting the salmon later will result in flakier salmon bits. If you want your salmon to have more form, try cubing it while it’s raw and pan-frying it in olive until cooked about 3-4 minutes per side. However, you decide to prep your salmon, make sure to flake or cube it into bite-sized pieces so there’s enough to go around later.

Mince the garlic, chop the basil and get your lemon rind ready while the pasta and salmon cooks. As usual, I’m gonna advocate using a microplane for grating your rind and Parmesan cheese. It’s worth it.

Drain the pasta and mix it all up with some good quality olive oil. You’ll want something high quality because this will be the ‘sauce’ that binds the flavors together, so it has be delicious. I used extra virgin olive oil here. If you don’t really know the difference between regular olive oil, virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, here’s a great guide explaining it. But long story short, extra virgin is the way to go for tossing, dressing and dipping.

Add some fresh basil leaves to the pasta too. I don’t know about you but I love the scent and taste of fresh basil leaves. It’s one of my favourite herbs. Throw in some freshly minced garlic too and salt and pepper to taste, then toss the pasta to mix. If you feel you need more extra virgin olive oil, go ahead and add another tablespoon or so.

Then we add fresh lemon juice, zest and capers to the pasta for some lemony flavour. Yum. By now the salmon should be cooked, so flake it or if you cubed it before, simply add it to the pasta. Cubing it prior to cooking makes it firmer, so you can toss the pasta and salmon with more gusto. If you flake it after baking it, be gentle during the tossing so you don’t end up with salmon shreds. If you don’t mind salmon shreds, toss away!

As usual, baking time of the salmon will vary depending on how thick your fillet is. The standard rule of thumb is to cook for 10 minutes per inch of thickness which is measured from the salmon’s thickest point. If you start getting whitish stuff, you’ve cooked it too long.

All types of salmon provide a good source of high quality protein, heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and "good" fat. The amount of fat varies by species but a 3 oz serving has only 120-180 calories. Salmon is also a good source of vitamins and minerals. If you're looking to add more seafood to your diet, salmon is an excellent choice. I recommend choosing wild salmon over farm-raised if you can find it.

And you’re ready to serve. Now the fun part begins by plating the pasta and topping it with freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese and drops of extra virgin olive oil to moisten it up. Also, if you happen to like olives, this pasta really goes well with it!

Bon appetite!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INGREDIENTS

· 500 gr. pasta of your choice

· 1 teaspoon minced garlic

· 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

· ½ cup basil leaves, finely chopped

· 500 gr. salmon fillet

· Zest of one lemon

· 2 tablespoons lemon juice

· 2 teaspoons capers

· Parmesan cheese, shaved or grated

· Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions

2. Meanwhile, season salmon with salt and pepper to taste and bake at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes

3. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with garlic, olive oil, basil and season with salt and pepper to taste

4. Add lemon juice, zest and capers to the pasta and mix well

5. Flake the salmon into bite-size pieces

6. Gently toss salmon with the pasta

7. Dish and serve hot topped with freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese

8. Spread some extra virgin olive oil to moisten it up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------