Nigel Slater's Salmon Macaroni Recipe

A gently flavoured pasta supper with a herb crust that makes a little salmon go a long way
Serve with a crisp, leafy salad and lots of watercress.The recipePour 600ml of double cream into a saucepan, add 400g of salmon, a little black pepper and a bay leaf and bring almost to the boil. Lower the heat and let the salmon cook gently for about 10 minutes until the flesh comes apart with ease, then remove from the heat.Boil 150g of serpentelli or macaroni in generously salted water for nine minutes then drain and tip into a baking dish. Remove the salmon from the cream and break it into large pieces, discarding any skin as you go, then tuck the fish into the pasta. Season the cream with two tablespoons of grain mustard and a little salt, then pour over the salmon and pasta.In a food processor, blitz 50g of sourdough bread to coarse crumbs with a large handful of fennel fronds or dill. Scatter the herb crumbs over the pasta. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200C/gas mark 6 until the crumbs are golden and lightly crisp. Serves 3-4.The trickThe important thing here is to infuse the cream with the salmon and bay, so leave the fish and bay leaves in the cream to cool a little once the fish is cooked.The twistInstead of salmon, use smoked mackerel. Peel the skin from the mackerel, then break the fish into large pieces before tucking among the pasta. Use dill or basil in the herb crust. Instead of mustard, try green peppercorns rinsed of their brine.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater
Nigel Slater's salmon macaroni recipe. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer