There was a time, long ago, when smoked salmon was a rare, decadent, treat.
I used to order it from Williams Sonoma, back when it was still only a catalog company (at least in Minneapolis). I would place my order in late November for a Christmas delivery and it would arrive, from Scotland, packed in dry ice, just in time for the holidays. It was wonderful.
When we lived in Ireland we used to ride our bikes, take the ferry across to Cobh, and buy it from a local who smoked his own in his back garden. We ate it often…. it was really wonderful.
When we lived in Andorra we would order our Christmas smoked salmon from one of our British friends. I really don’t know where she got it, but everyone ordered through her. At the last communal lunch before Christmas she would arrive with boxes of packaged smoked salmon for everyone.
Here I just pick it up whenever at the supermarket. There is normally a bigger, fancier selection in December but it’s available year round.
As it has a long shelf life I’ve started keeping it on hand for easy Friday dinners.
Click here to Pin Smoked Salmon & Peas with Creamy Gnocchi
PrintSmoked Salmon & Peas with Creamy Gnocchi
If you like smoked salmon or smoked trout this is a great choice for you. You don’t need to use the more expensive perfect slices. I often can get packages of ‘ends’ or chopped pieces. The gnocchi cooks quickly, about 2 minutes in boiling water and stays soft and creamy.
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Pasta
Ingredients
- 8oz (250gr) gnocchi
- 1 cup (5oz, 150gr) peas, frozen or fresh
- 4 tbs (1/4 cup) chopped chives
- 1/3 cup (3oz, 90ml) white wine
- 5oz (150gr) soft, spreadable goat cheese
- 4oz (120gr) smoked salmon, sliced or roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook gnocchi in boiling, salted water until they float, 1 – 2 minutes. Drain.
- Heat wine and peas to a simmer in a covered skillet.
- Cook for 5 minutes
- Add goat cheese, chives, and gently heat until goat cheese has melted.
- Add salmon and stir gently.
- Add gnocchi and heat through if needed.
- Serve.
Notes
The most time consuming part of this dinner prep is boiling the water. I cook the gnocchi when the peas are almost done so it’s hot when it’s combined with the salmon / peas / sauce.
You could substitute cream cheese for the goat cheese.
Keywords: smoked salmon, gnocchi, goat cheese
I covered my chewed on, picked on, Romaine lettuce stubs with netting yesterday.
By this morning I swear they had all grown an inch in gratitude.
Problem solved I thought…. Until I saw a bird trying to lift the netting.
Maybe a bit more work is needed.
I have old cd’s strung across the beans to keep the birds away from them. I’m hoping it will work this year.
When we first moved to France, during that first summer, I planted a big vegetable garden. It was surrounded by woods and fields. There were rabbits and deer and birds. I didn’t have a fence, I didn’t spray the tomatoes, I didn’t put out slug / snail repellent and I didn’t pay a lot of attentions to it.
Everything grew and produced and I didn’t have a single problem of any sort.
I thought – wow, this vegetable gardening is fun and easy!
That idyllic situation did not follow for year 2 nor any year since
First, I envy the fact that you can get smoked salmon any time. I love smoked salmon. 🙂
I might have mentioned last year about my monarch ferns and my little oak tree that both got decimated by I have no idea what. This year, I trimmed one side of the little oak (I’d thought at first that it was a hickory tree but…) and placed a small rod next to it and strapped around it to help it grow straight. The leaves were fairly large for the size of the tree and it looked so healthy! So I circled both with chicken wire, thought I’d solved my problem and then, this morning…
Both the tree and half the fern are once again decimated! I have cedar mulch around them and there are no slug trails of any kind. The wire isn’t big enough on the top to let a deer get her head in and it’s also four feet tall and the little tree was only about 7″ tall. I’m baffled. Out trail cam died so I need to get a new one and place it at ground level to try and see what’s going on. There’s some fern left. I’m sure whatever’s eating them will be back.
Also, something ate ONE green bean plant again this year in my garden. One. There’s no way an animal can get in there and there are no slug trails on the edges of the raised bed. *sigh*
It’s all so frustrating. Would a squirrel do that? Or a raccoon? I sometimes think birds do stuff like that just for fun. I know rabbits do. And I’ve seen rabbits clime our 5 ft fence when the dog is after them.
As to the bean… do you have magpies?
Funny how such a luxe item like smoked salmon was in my childhood is just an everyday purchase now
I know – very strange. I still love it, tho
I don’t know. I wouldn’t think so. The chicken wire is only a 1.5″ 2″ opening so I wouldn’t think the rabbits or squirrels could get through there. Maybe a chipmunk, but I haven’t seen any at all this year.
No, we don’t have magpies. We have crows, always in a group of three except this year, they picked up a fourth so I’m thinking it might be an offspring. But they never go in my garden at all. Nor my flowerbeds. It’s so frustrating.
I don’t think chicken wire is sturdy enough for them to push through. I’ve had a rabbit get stuck in the chain link lol
Yes, it’s all very frustrating…. I don’t know how farmers do it