Seafood Marinara Pasta

Accompanying the sausage-stuffed jalapeno peppers I posted about earlier, I prepared a seafood marinara pasta to round out the 4-course meal. Good thing it turned out delicious because I kind of made up the recipe as I went (the joy of cooking! It's so adventurous!). Thankfully no one died.


Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen seafood mix including mussels, octopus, and shrimp
• 1 box of Barilla Plus pasta (I used classic spaghetti)
• 1 jar of marinara sauce (I used Classico Tomato & Basil sauce)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (I used Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles)
• 5 cloves of garlic (I LOVE garlic, but you can use fewer for less potent after-dinner breath), minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 2 strips of bacon (optional)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. basil
• 2 tsp parsley
• 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup dry wine (I used a Sauvignon Blanc)
• sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Start boiling water in a large pot to get the pasta cooking.

2. Soak the frozen bag of seafood in water to defrost.

3. Pour about 2 tbsp. of olive oil into a saucepan in medium heat. Add the minced garlic, onion, and jalapeno and stir it so the flavors are well-spread. Then, add some bacon to accentuate the flavors and give it more of a salty kick.

4. Toss in the defrosted seafood mix and add all the spices. Add the wine and let everything simmer for ~10 min., under cover. In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente (if using the whole box, this takes about 8-10 min).

5. Add the marinara sauce still in simmer, allowing the seafood to soak everything in.

6. Add the cooked pasta into the sauce pan and toss so that sauce is evenly distributed.

7.  Plate, top with some Parmesan cheese, and voila!


Bon appetit!

yield: 5-6 servings
type: pasta
difficulty: Moderate
cost: $$