Seafood Pasta

Easter has passed and so has the lenten season. The season that in my house, we typically attempt not to eat red meat of any kind on a Friday. Sounds difficult, I know, but we make every attempt at avoiding meat. With that said, our family on average, tends to have a Friday fish fry. They are delicious, and have become a standard, not just during the lenten season, but more of a tradition for those of us who live in Milwaukee. There does come a time, however, when I want to do something over than a fish fry. As you have probably seen, I recently made a cedar smoked salmon that was out of this world, and this couple of past Fridays, I decided to create a seafood pasta dish that was pretty extraordinary.

I have never been a real pasta fan, until the last five years or so. It is probably because until then, I did not understand what good pasta was. Those times have changed, and now some of my favorite pasta dishes are the simple ones. A few simple ingredients that just really take a pasta dish to the next level. This seafood pasta dish is one of those, and one I recently got to share with family and friends on vacation. I think they all agreed. It was great.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb penne pasta
• water, salted
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 large shallots, minced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 20 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 lb of raw shrimp, 31-40s, cleaned and deveined
• 15 clams, or so
• 2 cups of good white wine
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil, for finish
• Rustic French or Italian bread, sliced and warmed (optional)

Begin by making the sauce for the pasta. Start by heating the two tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Toss in the shallots and garlic, and cook for a minute or so. Next add in your tomatoes, and a dash of salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook the tomatoes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water, and begin cooking your pasta, just under the allotted time for al dente.

To the pan of cooked tomatoes, add in the wine and give a good stir. Bring to a simmer, then toss in the clams and cleaned shrimp. Cook just until the clams begin to open and the shrimp is nice and opaque.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Give a couple of good stirs, then toss in the parmesan cheese. Stir once again. Taste, and season with any salt and pepper before serving.

What you get right away from this seafood pasta is the great wine taste along with the flavors of the shellfish. Every bite is worth the next so be careful as this recipe is not only a bit elegant, but also very simple and comforting. Hope you enjoy.