Whole wheat spaghetti with lemon, basil and salmon

I haven't had salmon in a while so this meal satisfies that desire. I would recommend this meal for a warm, summer day (although it could be eaten anytime) and it only took about 30 minutes. I got the recipe from the Food Network website here. Giada De Laurentiis made it so all credit should go to her.

Review: This meal was quite tasty, flavorful and one I will absolutely make again. All the ingredients went well together and the pasta in itself could be its own meal. The only thing I didn't include in it that the recipe called for was lemon zest and that was because we didn't have any lemons. I honestly don't think that the lemon zest would have added much more to it, though. I also used about 1/8 cup of dried basil. I rarely use fresh herbs because it's cheaper and more economical to get dried and you should use about 1/2 the amount of dried herbs as fresh. Sometimes I don't and use what the recipe calls for but on this one I used less. While the recipe calls for adding capers it is definitely something that does not have to be added and one I will not add again. Capers can be found in the aisle with the olives and they pretty much taste like olives, which I don't like. If you enjoy olives you might like capers but if not you probably won't. Still, I always recommend trying stuff you haven't had before so if you've never had a caper it won't hurt to add them. They are whole pieces so you can always pick them out if you don't like them. Chef's note: be sure to rinse them with water before serving. They come in a small jar with a white vinegar and salty liquid so that makes them very salty tasting if they are not rinsed. I also used half a box of spaghetti and there was plenty left over. The recipe is enough for 4 servings so if you are going to serve this to more than 4 people you might want to add more pasta but honestly we had enough left over that half a box would be enough pasta for about 8 people.  Other than that the salmon is how you would expect salmon to taste and the pasta tastes like pasta but with the olive oil, basil and touch of lemon juice it packs a nice flavor to mask the bland taste of regular pasta.

Recipe:

• 1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti pasta (about half a box)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I just used extra-virgin so I guess it'd really be 3 tablespoons of E-V oil)
• 4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon (or however many and whatever size you want)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (at least 1/2 as much if you use dried basil leaves)
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves (just use however much you want on the plate or in the bowl)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl (I put it back in the pot I cooked it in to save on dishes). Add the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the fish to the pan and cook until medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the salmon from the pan. Add the basil, capers (optional), lemon zest (optional) and lemon juice to the spaghetti mixture and toss to combine. Set out plates or shallow bowls and place spinach in each. Top with pasta and top each mound of pasta with salmon (you also can put the salmon to the side as I did). Serve immediately.