Philli' & Chilli Salmon Pasta

So I arrived in from work yesterday evening, feeling so tired you'd swear I had been working all week. Given that it was a Monday, I will admit this was somewhat concerning. Feeling pretty exhausted and exasperated after traipsing around the supermarket doing my weekly shop all I felt like doing was lying down and having a power nap (for a prolonged period of time). However I fought off that feeling and instead decided to have a snoop around my fridge to see what I could throw together quickly that would be tasty and double up as my lunch for the next day. The benefit of this would be (a) I wouldn't feel bad for being super lazy and (b) I would no longer be hungry. Win-win really. I spotted some Philadelphia cheese, some salmon darnes and some wholemeal pasta in the cupboard which I bought ages ago and have been meaning to use. A little bit of a random combination I thought at first but I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. This dinner may not be the prettiest dinner on the planet (the overly floral Cath Kidston print plate certainly isn't helping things there) but the it certainly has the taste factor.

Philli' & Chilli Salmon Pasta 

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 x salmon darnes (appox. 240g)
80g Philadelphia or cream cheese
120ml low fat milk
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic 
squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes (add gradually to your liking)
Pasta of your choice.
Parsley to garnish (optional)

Method:
1. Place the salmon darnes in tin foil and season well with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon 
    juice. If it's a special occasion you can also include a knob of butter. I also like to crumble 
    half a fish stock cube over the salmon but this is optional. Wrap the salmon in tin foil,      
    creating a 'pouch'. Place on a tray and bake for 12 mins at 190°C. Remove the salmon from 
    the oven open the tin foil and put back into over cooking for a further 3-4 mins uncovered.
2. In the meantime cook the pasta of your choice in a saucepan. In terms of measuring how 
    much pasta to cook, as a rule of thumb for pasta shapes, I take a cereal bowl and fill it ⅔ 
    with uncooked pasta. This amount of pasta is just enough for one person when cooked.
3. In a separate pan fry off the onions and garlic (both finely chopped). Gradually add the chilli 
    flakes to the pan  along with another splash of lemon juice.
4. When the salmon is cooked, remove from the oven. Remove the skin from the salmon. Then 
    drain the pasta and add the Philadelphia, skimmed milk and onion and garlic. Finally add 
    the salmon darnes flaking them gently with a fork. Using a wooden spoon to mix the 
    ingredients together until they are well combined and the sauce is well distributed through 
    the pasta
5. Garnish with greenery of your choice!