By Connor Forbes
Winter calls for hearty pasta dishes. The kind that stick to your bones to help keep you warm in the 40-degree nights we get around southern California. Now ask someone from the other parts of the country about cold and they will scoff at us for our “cold” winters. But it is all relative. Cold doesn’t scale linearly and 40-degree nights feel darn cold to us.
Cue creamy pasta. This can be made with any protein you want, really. Chicken is an excellent alternative to salmon, as salmon is 3-4 times more expensive. I added in some greens as well to balance out the nutritional value. But you can leave those out if you like.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 8-ounce room temperature milk
- 1 cup shredded parmesan
- Salmon, or alternate protein
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 16 ounces pasta
To Make
Set your milk out half an hour before starting to allow it to raise to room temp. Or use shelf stable milk that is kept at room temp. Cook salmon or other protein separately. I used the air fryer to cook the salmon with a little salt and pepper. Cook your pasta to the directions on the label. Make a bechamel sauce by melting the butter. Once butter has melted add in the flour and stir. Cook for 2 minutes stirring every so often. Add in the room temperature milk little by little, stirring while doing so. (Room temperature milk helps prevent the sauce from “breaking” and being clumpy.) Once sauce is smooth, add in Parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta to sauce and fold in so pasta is evenly coated. Mix in your protein or keep separate and serve on top. Serve with roasted Brussels sprouts and arugula. Or don’t. EAT!
