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Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil, and Salmon

If you’re looking for a healthy pasta dish, you can’t go wrong with this one. The spinach doesn’t really cook, it just gets wilted by the heat of the warm pasta. When I eat this I feel I’ve both indulged a craving for pasta and treated myself to something especially healthful and nutritious!

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 pound whole-grain or whole-wheat spaghetti
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (4-ounce) salmon fillets
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to combine.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Add the fish to the pan and cook until medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the salmon from the pan.

    Step 3

    Add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the spaghetti and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow bowls. Place 1/2 cup spinach in each bowl. Top with one quarter of the pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Serve immediately.

Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.
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