In this spicy pasta dish I'm bringing the salty bounty of the sea and the earthy acidity of tomatoes together to make a pasta combination that is sure to please. If you are serving a crowd that doesn't do spicy, omit the red pepper flakes. I'm using scallops and shrimp, but you could also use crab, lobster or calamari.
I can't wait, so let's get started...
Serves 4-6
In a 2 quart saucepan heat 3 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat, add three cloves of peeled and slightly smashed garlic and 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes. As the oil starts to sizzle around the garlic, turn the cloves often so they brown but do not burn. When browned remove the garlic from the pan and discard. We now have a seasoned olive oil that can also be used as a simple but very flavorful sauce on your favorite pasta.
Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and saute, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add 4 cups of chopped Italian plum tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves and a small handful of roughly chopped fresh basil. Bring to a boil and turn down to lowest setting to a lazy simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add 1 cup of bay scallops and 1/2 pound of peeled and deveined, tail-on shrimp. Cover and turn heat off. The seafood will cook while we prepare the pasta.
Scalops and shrimp, peeled, deveined with the tail still on.
In a stock pot add 1 pound of penne to plenty of boiling salted water. The water should be the same salinity as the sea, about 1 tablespoon for 4 quarts of water. Stir frequently during the first minute so the pasta does not stick together. Cook according to package directions for al dente, subtracting 30 seconds from the cooking time.
Get out a saute pan large enough to hold all the pasta and a few ladles of our zesty seafood marinara sauce. When the pasta is done, immediately drain, saving a few tablespoons of the pasta water, and add to the saute pan, turn heat to medium high and ladle enough sauce to coat pasta, but not so much that the pasta is swimming in sauce, start with less sauce and add more if it looks dry. Add a tablespoon or two of the pasta water to moisten, if needed.
This is an extra step over putting the drained penne onto a serving plate and ladling sauce directly onto the pasta, but it is worth it because in the saute pan the pasta and the sauce enter into a covert agreement that is is hidden from view to intensify the flavor of the pasta and thicken the sauce. No one knows how this is done, as the brotherhood of pasta and sauce have kept this a tightly guarded secret forever. The pasta will continue to cook in the saute pan, that is why we undercooked it slightly before adding.
To serve, divide onto plates and finish with a drizzle of your best olive oil, a handful of freshly grated Parmesan and a grating or two of black pepper.
Remember...homemade just tastes better.
Buon Apetito!
I can't wait, so let's get started...
Serves 4-6
In a 2 quart saucepan heat 3 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat, add three cloves of peeled and slightly smashed garlic and 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes. As the oil starts to sizzle around the garlic, turn the cloves often so they brown but do not burn. When browned remove the garlic from the pan and discard. We now have a seasoned olive oil that can also be used as a simple but very flavorful sauce on your favorite pasta.
Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and saute, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add 4 cups of chopped Italian plum tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves and a small handful of roughly chopped fresh basil. Bring to a boil and turn down to lowest setting to a lazy simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add 1 cup of bay scallops and 1/2 pound of peeled and deveined, tail-on shrimp. Cover and turn heat off. The seafood will cook while we prepare the pasta.
Scalops and shrimp, peeled, deveined with the tail still on.
In a stock pot add 1 pound of penne to plenty of boiling salted water. The water should be the same salinity as the sea, about 1 tablespoon for 4 quarts of water. Stir frequently during the first minute so the pasta does not stick together. Cook according to package directions for al dente, subtracting 30 seconds from the cooking time.
Get out a saute pan large enough to hold all the pasta and a few ladles of our zesty seafood marinara sauce. When the pasta is done, immediately drain, saving a few tablespoons of the pasta water, and add to the saute pan, turn heat to medium high and ladle enough sauce to coat pasta, but not so much that the pasta is swimming in sauce, start with less sauce and add more if it looks dry. Add a tablespoon or two of the pasta water to moisten, if needed.
This is an extra step over putting the drained penne onto a serving plate and ladling sauce directly onto the pasta, but it is worth it because in the saute pan the pasta and the sauce enter into a covert agreement that is is hidden from view to intensify the flavor of the pasta and thicken the sauce. No one knows how this is done, as the brotherhood of pasta and sauce have kept this a tightly guarded secret forever. The pasta will continue to cook in the saute pan, that is why we undercooked it slightly before adding.
To serve, divide onto plates and finish with a drizzle of your best olive oil, a handful of freshly grated Parmesan and a grating or two of black pepper.
Remember...homemade just tastes better.
Buon Apetito!
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