Quick Penne Pasta with Smoked Salmon

A quality meal on the trail doesn't have to mean slaving away in camp.   I stopped along Knox Canyon Road for a quick dinner before setting out for some additional exploring.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Penne Pasta
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4 cup sun-dried or dehydrated tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil
• 6 oz smoked salmon

Serves 2

Fresh basil straight from the garden

Choosing Your Smoked Salmon

Salmon ready for the smoker

We were lucky enough to travel to Alaska this year and came home with 30 pounds of Silver Salmon.   I used the Little Chief Smoked Salmon Deluxe recipe that came with our smoker to prepare the salmon for this recipe.   If you do not have access to fresh salmon to smoke at home, you can pick up quality smoked salmon at your local grocery store.   When at the grocer, choose a smoked 'Coho' without added flavorings.

Pre-Trip Preparation
Every year we dehydrate tomatoes from our garden to use throughout the year, storing them in the freezer.   We combined our dehydrated tomatoes with the olive oil in a small Nalgene container and placed the basil in a second.

Preparation on the Trail
Combine penne pasta with boiling water and cook until al dente.   While the pasta is cooking, roughly chop basil and set aside.   Slice the salmon fillet into 1/4" wide pieces and set aside.   Drain the pasta water, reserving the pasta in the saucepan.   Combine the remaining ingredients with the pasta, reserving one-half the basil and salmon.   Plate the pasta and garnish with remaining basil and salmon.

Boiling pasta along Knox Canyon Road