salmon & sungold linguine
the weeknight meal i'm making all summer long
Here’s a well-rounded, weeknight-ready dish to make all summer long. It’s inspired by a recipe from the only cookbook I actually use on a regular basis: The Magic of Tinned Fish by Chris McDade. I know I’m not alone in harboring an extensive cookbook collection, one that’s less tastefully curated and more crazy hoarder. I also know I’m not alone in the fact that I rarely cook from any of them. The stacks are primarily there for inspiration and research, a treasure trove of knowledge I like to peruse when I have extra time on a weekend instead of when I’m rushing to make dinner on a Wednesday. The Magic of Tinned Fish is the exception that proves this rule, maybe because it’s the opposite of all of the things I usually look for in a cookbook: It’s short, it’s small, and it’s to the point. Very unlike my own book, which is long and big and chock full of narrative.
One of my favorite recipes of McDade’s—and the one that inspired today’s newsletter—is his Fettuccine with Mackerel, Sun Gold Tomatoes, and Parmesan. It requires fewer than ten ingredients—one of which is the criminally underrated tinned mackerel, and almost all of which are pantry staples—and less than 30 minutes to put together. The result is at once luxurious and light, flavorful and satisfying, and far more than the sum of its parts. I’ve stuck with McDade’s general technique, with a few swaps and additions of my own, the most obvious of which is the use fresh salmon because I think its richness complements the acidity of the tomatoes especially well.
Perhaps what I love most about McDade’s dish is that it completely embraces the often-contentious pairing of seafood and cheese. There is no hiding the Parmigiano, no tucking it away at the bottom of the ingredient list and hoping no one notices. Instead, it sits proudly beside the mackerel in the recipe’s title, as important as the protein, all in the name of a truth un-universally acknowledged: Seafood and cheese can taste really, really good together. More surprising, I was reminded of said truth on my recent trip to Italy, at a restaurant in Puglia, where they served platters of raw tuna covered in burst balls of burrata. The tender, buttery fish tasted all the better alongside the freshness of the cheese, and I never want to eat fresh tuna any other way again. My point is that nothing is so set in stone that it cannot be changed. There is always room for innovation and nuance, especially when it comes to food.
So, in the name of innovation and nuance, feel free to adjust this recipe to your liking. Switch up the herbs, the pasta shape, the variety of tomatoes, even the fish itself. Use the cheese, or don’t—though I really think you should. Whatever path you take, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.
Salmon & Sungold Linguine
Serves 2 to 4