​Salmon With Garlic Butter and Tomato Pasta

This recipe is easy peasy and delicious - a crucial combination to feed a hungry almost 8 year old on a busy weeknight!
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
  • ​​4(4- to 6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets, patted dry
  • 1 pint (or more) cherry or other small tomatoes
  • 1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
  • 3 basil sprigs, plus ½ cup torn leaves (optional)
  • 8 ounces angel hair pasta

Equipment
  • ​Sheet pan lined with foil
Directions​​
​Step 1
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the broiler to high. On a foil-lined sheet pan, coat the salmon and tomatoes with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the salmon skin side up. Broil until the tomatoes are blistered and the salmon’s skin is crisp and flesh flakes easily with a fork, 6 to 10 minutes. Halfway through broiling, check on the sheet pan: If the tomatoes are burning, give them a stir. If the salmon skin is burning — congrats, you have a powerful broiler! — move the rack to the center of the oven and keep cooking.

Step 2
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 3 cups water, 1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal salt, the basil sprigs and a generous sprinkling of black pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta, breaking the noodles in half if they don’t fit in the skillet. Cook over medium-high, tossing often with tongs or a fork, until the pasta is al dente, 5 to 8 minutes. It’s OK if the water isn’t completely absorbed, but if the skillet looks dry, without any liquid on the bottom of the skillet, add a few tablespoons of water. If the pasta is done before the salmon, remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Step 3
When the salmon and tomatoes are out of the oven, transfer the salmon to plates, skin side up, to rest. Remove the basil sprigs from the pasta, then add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pasta and toss until melted and glossing the noodles. Add the tomatoes, any juices from the sheet pan and the basil leaves to the pasta and stir just once to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the salmon alongside the noodles.
Source

Notes:
  • ​Bah, 5 measly cloves of garlic - use more I say!!
  • Also, this is such a quick way to whip up pasta, and to whip up salmon - and you can riff on the flavorings quite easily!