The sauce is the surprise: sweet corn blended with a little cheese and pasta water into a creamy, naturally sweet coating — no cream needed. With flaked salmon it’s 35.5g of protein for 422 calories.

Blending corn is one of the best low-fat ways to get a creamy pasta sauce.

Ingredients

  • For the salmon & pasta
  • Salmon fillets — 2, ~115 g each [P 46 C 0 F 14]
  • Whole-grain pasta — 85 g (about 1¼ cups) [P 12 C 62 F 3]
  • Olive oil — 1 tsp (or spray)
  • Salt, pepper, paprika — to taste
  • For the corn sauce
  • Frozen corn — 1 cup [P 5 C 30 F 2]
  • Onion — 1 small, chopped
  • Garlic — 3 cloves
  • Low-fat cheese — ¼ cup (mozzarella) [P 9 C 2 F 6]
  • Pasta water — ⅓ cup (reserved)
  • Salt, pepper — to taste

Method

  1. Cook the pasta. Boil 7 minutes; reserve ⅓ cup water, then drain.
  2. Cook the salmon. Season and pan-cook 3–4 minutes a side, then flake with two forks.
  3. Blend the sauce. Soften the corn, onion and garlic, then blend with the cheese, salt, pepper and pasta water until smooth.
  4. Combine. Toss the pasta, salmon and corn sauce in the pan.

What to eat it with

  • Chilli flakes and a squeeze of lemon.
  • A side salad.
  • Extra veg — stir in spinach.

Variations

  • Creamier: add 1 tsp butter and 1 tbsp cream cheese to the corn (adds calories).
  • Any fish: works with cod or shrimp.
  • Lower carb: a chickpea or lentil pasta.

Honest notes

  • Fibre: about 4g a serving, from the corn and whole-grain pasta.
  • Salmon note: salmon carries most of the 10g fat — it’s healthy fat (omega-3s), not something to fear.
  • Macros: reconcile with the per-serving 422 cal / 35.5g protein listed; no correction needed.