This elegant pasta has only a few ingredients, but together they make an incredibly satisfying supper. The dish requires nothing more than a big green salad as accompaniment. If you want to truly gild the lily, spoon fat pearls of salmon caviar or tiny, crunchy tobiko (flying-fish roe) onto each serving. Prep and Cook Time: about 20 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, cut into half-moons
• 1 cup whipping cream
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• About 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• About 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound vermicelli or spaghetti
• 8 ounces hot- or cold-smoked salmon, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large, high-sided frying pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is soft but not browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, lemon zest and juice, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until mixture has thickened slightly, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add pasta to water and cook according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
3. Add salmon to cream mixture and stir to combine. Pour pasta into frying pan with salmon-cream mixture and toss to coat, adding some of the cooking water as needed to moisten pasta. Add parsley and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.