It is easy to make, but tastes just like something you would order from a fancy Italian restaurant. Keep reading to find out how to recreate this delicious dish.
What Do You Need?
This dish may look complicated, but the recipe is actually very simple. In fact, it can be made using only two pans – a saucepan for the pasta and a frying pan for the seafood and the sauce.
If you want to make sure that your seafood pasta is perfect, simply follow these tips and tricks.
Seafood – When you fry off the seafood, it is better to undercook it rather than over cook it. The seafood will have the chance to cook more in the sauce, and if you cook it for too long then it will take on a rubbery texture. Prawns take around one minute each side, and the calamari and mussel meat takes 2 to 3 minutes in total.
Fresh Ingredients – If you want to get the best flavour then try to use fresh seafood, fresh lemon juice, fresh parsley and fresh garlic. If you do need to cut some corners, then frozen prawns will be okay as long as they are thoroughly defrosted. You could also use pre-minced garlic, and bottled lemon juice if you don’t have the fresh ingredients. Don’t use dried parsley in place of fresh parsley as it will not have the same flavour.
Reduce The Sauce – If you rush the steps of the recipe then you will end up with sauce that is too runny or watery. You need to make sure that you reduce the sauce to let it thicken.
Use Cooking Water – When making any pasta, always reserve a cup of the water that you’ve cooked the pasta in. When you mix everything together at the end, add some of that water. The starch in the pasta cooking water helps to loosen the sauce whilst giving it a silky texture.
Reheating – This pasta is not suitable for reheating due to the seafood. Make sure that you only cook as much as you need at one time. Therefore, halve the recipe if you are only cooking it for two people.
There are several ways that you can adapt this seafood pasta recipe.
Pasta – Spaghetti or linguine work really well for this recipe. However, you can use whatever pasta you like best – conchiglie, farfalle, penne, rigatoni – it’s up to you!
Seafood – This recipe uses prawns, calamari and mussels, but you can switch out any of these for seafood of your choice. You could use crab meat, or salmon flakes which will disperse into small pieces throughout the pasta. You could sear larger chunks of fish and add them just before serving. Squid heads also make a nice choice for this dish, and you can cook them alongside the calamari.
Additional Ingredients – You can add extra ingredients if you want like a handful of spinach, or some chopped chorizo.
Garnish – It is not traditional to add cheese to seafood pasta, but you can use some grated parmesan cheese to finish off the dish if you want to. You could also serve the pasta with a wedge of fresh lemon and a sprig of fresh parsley. If you want the dish to look fancy, add a few cooked mussels still in their shells.
Side Dishes – If you want to make this pasta dish go further, try serving it with some lovely side dishes. Tasty garlic bread would work well, or steamed tender stem broccoli drizzled with chilli oil and a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.
A delicious and simple seafood pasta recipe that you can recreate in your kitchen to impress your family and friends.
Ingredients
250g250Prawns Or Shrimp (peeled and deveined)
150g150Calamari
150g150Mussel Meat (removed from shell)
300g300Pasta
2tablespoon2Olive Oil
2tablespoon2Butter
4cloves4Garlic (crushed)
0.5cup0.5White White
1cup1Cream
0.5teaspoon0.5Chilli Flakes
0.5cup0.5Fresh Parsley (finely chopped)
1-2teaspoon 1-2Lemon Juice
Directions
The first thing you need to do is cook the pasta. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add the pasta. You want it to be al dente – cooked but firm. You can continue with the rest of the steps while the pasta is cooking, but make sure you keep an eye on it and don’t let it overcook. When you drain the pasta, keep one cup of the water aside to use in the sauce later on.
While the pasta is boiling you can cook the seafood. Add the olive oil into a large frying pan. Season the seafood with salt and pepper, and then fry it in the frying pan. It should only take 2 to 3 minutes. Depending on the size of your pan, you might need to cook the seafood in batches. Once it is fried, tip it into a bowl and set it aside.
Using the same frying pan, add the butter, chili flakes and garlic. Let the butter melt and the garlic sizzle until you can smell the fragrance being released, then add the wine and the lemon juice. Let this simmer for several minutes until it has reduced by about half.
Next, add the cream and continue to simmer for around 5 minutes. Test the sauce by dipping in a metal spoon – the sauce should coat the back of the spoon rather than sliding right off. This means it is thick enough.
Add the seafood back into the sauce, including any juices that have escaped while the seafood was resting. You can also add the fresh parsley, then stir the ingredients together. Add the cup of pasta water and stir it in, this will loosen the sauce, but the starch from the pasta will help the sauce to retain its thickness.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce and use a pair of tongs to toss it. This will coat the pasta in the sauce. The pasta is now ready to serve.
When it comes to great places to eat in Australia, the list really is endless. There are so many different restaurants, cafés, and chains to try that you really are spoiled for choice. From Italian food, to Japanese food, to a good ‘ole rump steak, the food options are endless.
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Through this blog, I will be sharing and recommending some of my favorite places you need to visit, such as where to find the best pizza in Adelaide, and the best bakery in Brisbane. Whatever food you are fancying, I have got you covered!
