Yet another smoked salmon recipe. I told you I loved it, didn’t I? This was so easy. It was a beautiful day and I really wanted to BBQ but on this very rare ocasion I did not feel like burgers (gasp). My cravings for smoked salmon were taking over and we hadn’t had pizza in far too long (my stupid kidney stone diet frowns upon any delivery type food). So I decided to make my own semi kidney stone friendly pizza. I also didn’t feel like a lot of fussing in the kitchen as it was such a beautiful day, so I went with the store bought dough. You could of course step this up a notch with home made but I promise it was absolutly delicious exactly as I made it it..lazy and all.

• 1 bag pizza dough.
• 1 ball of mozzarellissima cheese, cut in rounds and place all over pizza.
• Goat cheese, sprinkle as much as you like.
• Shredded cheese, whatever you like. I used a bit of mozzarella and some parmesan.
• Tomato, sliced and layered on top of pizza again use as much as you like. I used three plum tomatoes.
• Red onion, slice into strips and sprinkle on pizza.
• Smoked salmon, tear or cut into pieces…big or small it’s up to you.
• Olive oil, for brushing dough and pan
• Flour, for dusting surface and rolling out dough

FOR THE PIZZA

Heat BBQ to med-high. Brush pizza pan with oil. Roll dough on lightly floured surface then place on pan. Once the dough is on the pan you will want to perfect the shape of the pizza. Brush dough with oil. Add toppings. Bake for 8-12 min. Remove from grill and top with lemony greens.

*note: You can add the salmon before baking pizza or if you don’t want it to cook through you can add it a min or so before it has finished baking then place back on BBQ to finish it off.

FOR THE GREENS

Toss your choice of greens with the juice of 1 lemon and a bit of olive oil. I used baby mixed greens.

I love smoked salmon. I crave it all the time. Being pregnant kinda put a damper on my little love affair. When I found out St. Michael’s was where I was going to deliver,  maybe not my first thought but up there with my first thought was “there is a Druxy’s across the street, I can get a smoked salmon bagel for my first meal after the baby is born!!!” Unfortunately that was not the case, Druxy’s was closed. I wound up eating a crappy Tim Hortons sandwich but my second meal was the most amazing smoked salmon sandwich I had ever had.

Today I am once again craving smoked salmon but I want it served as comfort food. Smoked salmon mac’n’cheese it is.

Don’t mind if I do.

• 3 cups chopped butternut squash
• 3 cups shredded cheese divided
• 4 cups (450g) uncooked pasta
• 1/3 cup diced sundried tomatoes or 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 150g smoked salmon
• 4 cups chopped greens, spinach, kale, collards, chard..
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1.5 tbl flour
• 2.5 tbl butter
• 5 tsp fresh dill chopped and divided
• salt and pepper to taste ( watch out for the salt as the salmon is already quite salty )

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. cube butternut squash. Coat with olive oil and bake at 400 for 15 min.
3. cook pasta until it is just under-cooked ( a min or so less than you would cook it normally )
4. In a sauce pan over med heat melt the butter, then add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the flour and whisk until well blended. Add the cream and broth, continue to whisk until smooth and thickened.
5. Add to the mixture 2 cups of the shredded cheese. Stir until melted and combined.
6. Add 3/4 of the dill and season with salt and pepper to taste ( remember not too much salt )
7. In a big bowl add butternut squash, smoked salmon and the pot of cheese sauce. Stir together.
8. Now pour mixture into a large casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
9. Bake at 400 for 30 min.
10. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the remaining dill.
11. Enjoy!