Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Pasta ai frutti di mare

Seafood pasta. Delicious Shortneck clams and tiger shrimp with a garlic-tomato and white wine sauce. Garnished with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
I wanted a little kick in my dish so I chopped up some jalepeno peppers for some heat. Doesn't appear to have enough sauce-- next time I'll opt for some more tomatoes and water. This recipe can easily serve 2, if not 3 people. Great dish to cook for company. It's delicious and filling!What you'll need for 3 servings
  • 1/2 lb spaghetti or linguine
  • 1 lb tiger shrimp
  • 1 lb littleneck clams or manila clams
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)
  • 4-5 large tomatoes
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Fresh, flat-leaf Italian parsley (about a small handful)
  • Basil
  • 3 1tbsp unsalted butter, divided
  • some oil
  • salt & pepper
Cooking instructions (multi-tasking skills required)
  1. Soak clams in white wine for a few minutes.
  2. Bring stock of water to a boil, add enough salt to make the water taste like the ocean and then the pasta. Cook pasta until it is al dente or 2 minutes before "done." Drain pasta.
  3. Meanwhile, chop your tomatoes/jalepenos and sauté 2 cloves of sliced garlic in 1 tbsp of butter melted with some oil. When garlic turns golden brown, add 2 ladles of pasta water and cook tomatoes until they have turned into a sauce. Then add salt, pepper, some basil, fresh parsley, and jalepeno.
  4. Meanwhile, drain the wine into a pan and bring to boil. Reduce to medium heat, add clams and cover pan with a lid. Cook clams until they are parted. Then remove clams and set aside, reserving about a ladleful of cooked wine.
  5. Marinate the shrimp with jalepeno, some lime juice, salt, and pepper. Heat skillet/pan to medium-high heat. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter in some oil and sauté the shrimp until cooked. Quickly remove from pan and set aside.
  6. Finally, add the reserved wine and the pasta into the tomato sauce and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. When pasta is done cooking, remove from heat and toss in the clams and shrimp.
  7. Plate and garnish with the remaining parsley and Parmesan cheese. Bon appétit!