This dish is so easy, and scalable, that I made it for a group of six friends on a weeknight. The Fontina and prosciutto elevate ordinary salmon to special-occasion status and pair well with the lemony pappardelle and zucchini ribbons.

The recipe is adapted from Fran Warde's "Food for Friends," my dog-eared, go-to book for entertaining. I've made so many of her recipes that I rarely even use the book as a reference any more; I just cook from memory.

For a lighter version, you can make it without the Fontina or without the prosciutto and it's still delicious.

Prosciutto Salmon with Pasta and Zucchini Ribbons
Serves 2

Prosciutto Salmon
2 fillets of salmon, skinned (you can ask the fish monger to skin them)
4 slices prosciutto
4 thinly sliced, rectangular strips of Fontina cheese
Salt and pepper

Pasta and Zucchini Ribbons
1 pound pappardelle pasta
2 medium zucchinis
zest from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced chives or chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Salt and pepper the salmon fillets. Place the cheese slices on top of the fillets so that the cheese will melt evenly over the top of the salmon. Wrap the fillets with two prosciutto slices each so that they are evenly distributed across the length of the fillet. Place the fillets on a broiler pan and cook for 12 - 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the filets.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Zest and juice the lemon. Using a mandoline, thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise into ribbons.

Cook the pasta as instructed on the package. The length of cooking time depends on the thickness of the pasta and can vary widely. During the last three minutes of cooking, add the zucchini ribbons to the boiling water to blanch, then drain the zucchini and pasta together.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish the mixture with minced chives or chopped parsley.

Place the salmon fillets on top of the pasta and serve.