This is one of those recipes that has become a new classic. I often see it on menus at Italian restaurants and because I love salmon, it's hard for me to resist. It couldn't be simpler to make at home, and best of all, it's a great way to use up leftover salmon and that last 1/3 of a bag of frozen peas that is cluttering up your freezer.
My recipe contains dill, and dill is one of those herbs that I never thought my children would like, but it turns out, they are as crazy about the stuff as I am. Back before I had kids, I was an English (ESL) teacher, teaching English to students from other countries who wanted to take the TOEFL test to go to university here and for new U.S. immigrants. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had and one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.
One of the women I taught with was Russian and she packed a little sprig of dill in her lunch every day. She would break it apart and scatter it over her salads or just take little nibbles from it as she ate her lunch. Because of her example, I was inspired to start using dill in my own cooking and I haven't looked back since. I love it with salmon, with salads esp. potato and pasta salads, in my tuna sandwiches, I can't get enough.
I share this because I am constantly surprised by how much I love something when I try a new thing and the same goes for kids. I think too often we may hesitate to serve things to our kids because we think they won't like. True, it took four years of trying to get my kid to like mashed potatoes, but sometimes they like the things you least expect.
For this recipe, the sauce cooks in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
Put up some penne or other short pasta to cook. Make sure you salt the pasta water. In the meantime, pour a pint of heavy cream into a large saute pan and add a clove of chopped garlic to it. Warm gently over medium-low heat. Add in leftover salmon (leave in big chunks), a couple of handfuls of peas, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Warm through being careful not to boil the sauce. Cook pasta until almost al dente (usu around 2-3 minutes less than pasta box instructions indicate), drain, then add to pan. Toss with sauce. Scatter a generous handful of fresh dill over the pasta before serving. Devour. Serves 6.