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Friday, 25 July 2008

Penne with seafood medley




As quick and easy as my dish is, I shall also make a quick post as we are leaving for a few days. We are going to Sparta to our relatives and shall be back next week.

Yesterday, morning we left for the Lake without preparing anything for lunch, so on our way back we stopped at a big supermarket. I wanted to buy some fresh fish, which would be easy to grill but I didn't like what I saw, nor did I like the meat. Instead I grabbed some baby kalamari, mussels (or is it clams, I am not sure of the difference because in Greek they are both called μύδια? I think they are mussels because they were orange in colour) and scallops and for pasta I chose penne.

When we came back I made a quick google search with the four ingredients and found this recipe. I had no sun dried tomatoes or shrimps or fresh basil. Why would I add heavy cream in a nice light dish like pasta? And why add chicken broth in a fish recipe? Although I had some heavy cream home I skipped this ingredient.

All seafood ingredients were frozen and I did not have a lot of time to thaw them. The scallops and mussels (clams?) it was easy to get half of the quantity from the package. The kalamari gave me a hard time as there was too much ice but with a sharp knife I managed to cut half the quantity and put all in a bowl with water. By the time I had my shower and washed the swimming costumes and towels the ice melted.

This is my version, which turned out great. However, if you like the original one you can still do it.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Servings: 5

Ingredients:

  • 250 grams of baby kalamari, cut in small pieces
  • 1 cup of clams or mussels
  • 1 cup of scallops
  • 2 ripe fresh tomatoes
  • 1 cup of red, green, yellow peppers, sliced
  • 4 mushrooms (agaricus bisporus)
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • ½ cup of white dried wine
  • ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • 350 grams of penne tricolore
  • A few spoonfuls of finely chopped parsley

Directions

In a large skillet add olive oil reserving a few spoonfuls. Sauté onion and garlic and add seafood.


Sauté again for a few minutes and add wine.

Meantime peel the tomatoes and after blending add to the skillet and mix. Add oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Cover with lid and simmer for about 20 minutes until seafood remains with just a little sauce.

Meantime boil water, add salt and cook pasta, al dente, according to the package. Twenty minutes is more than enough.


While pasta and seafood are cooking, in a separate non stick frying pan add the remaining oil. Clean mushrooms with kitchen paper, chop and sauté them. Remove to a platter and sauté the peppers for a few minutes as well and remove to the platter.


When pasta is cooked, drain and mix with the seafood in the skillet.

As my children are not fond of mushrooms and peppers, after serving them I mix in the peppers and mushrooms, and when serving I sprinkled some parsley on top.



I am submitting this recipe to Ruth, of Once upon a feast, for her weekly event Presto Pasta Nights.



Have a nice weekend!!

© All Rights Reserved. All recipes, text and photographs are the original creations of the author. Do not post or publish anything from this site without full credit and a direct link to the original post. Thank you. Ivy

22 Post a Comment:

Ruth Daniels said...

It does look wonderful, and I'm with you...why would you want to use chicken broth with all that tasty seafood.

Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Night. It will be first up next week.

Have a great visit and raise a glass for me!

Ivy said...

Hi Ruth. That was quick. Thanks a lot.

We are leaving in a few hours and don't know if I will have access to internet but if I do I shall publish the comments or else when we come back. See you soon.

Peter G said...

Great seafood pasta Ivy..I'm not the biggest seafood eater but that looks delicious...I also agree about the original recipe...why would you add chicken stock?

Ivy said...

Peter, thanks. Ι am glad you agree as well.

Peter M said...

Good move on skipping the chicken broth and like most frozen seafood medleys, it's likely mussels in the mix.

Mushrooms and seafood seem to go really well together.

Enjoy the weekend and take a "voutia" in the sea for me.

Dhanggit said...

this is so mouth-watering!! seafood and penne are truly perfect combo!! i'm loving it! great presto pasta entry!

Ben said...

I don't know the difference between clams and mussels. Although I love fresh seafood nobody else in this house does and we don't get fresh, inexpensive seafood here, so I have to sacrifice that delicious part of my life. Maybe I just need to move to Greece, what do you think? :-p

Bellini Valli said...

Another triumph and so quick and easy to prepare after a day in the sun:D

JennDZ - The Leftover Queen said...

This looks delicious Ivy! Have a great time in Sparta! :)

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Your kids don't like mushrooms and peppers? I love them, especially in this pasta. It looks truly delicious, Ivy.

Cakelaw said...

Delicious Ivy - I love the coloured pasta that you used for this.

glamah16 said...

Cream is unceccesary, I agree. I love this combo of seafood and pasta.Have a safe trip.

Lore said...

Another delish pasta dish from Ivy! I would choose this over any grilled fish :)
Hope you're having a nice visit!

Mike of Mike's Table said...

That looks great and I hope you have a great trip!

Jeena said...

Fabulous recipe Ivy and so healthy too, I love the sea food combo. :-)

Ivy said...

Hi everybody and thanks for your wonderful comments and wishes. We had a nice time and rested for a few days. We arrived late last night and have tons of work to do but hope to visit it you all soon.

Núria said...

This macarrones just look the way I would cook them!!! I like the idea of the mushrooms and peppers too :D

Wonderful pasta dish!

Ivy said...

I love mushrooms and peppers, so I always add them where I think they would go well with other ingredients and the dish was excellent.

Psychgrad said...

Oh yum! I would love to eat this. I keep seeing dishes with calamari in it and I want to try it myself. Kind of scared of it, though.

I think clams have white shells and mussels have dark shells. From what I can see in the picture, I think you're right - they're mussels.

Have a great trip!

Ivy said...

Hi Psychgrad, just went away for a few days and I'm back again until we leave again. Hope you'll try it because it is delicious.

gay said...

This must be a sumptuous dish. I love the Agaricus mushrooms and the kalamari and mussels as well.

Ivy said...

Thanks Gay. These mushrooms are very good, I've tried them in several dishes.

 

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