There’s just something magical about serving a meal in parchment paper. I waxed poetic on this subject in my post about How to Perfectly Cook Salmon, where it not only makes for a gorgeous presentation but is also a way to achieve a perfect piece of fish. And now I want to show you one of my favorite ways to serve pasta! This is so simple that you could surprise your family, lucky boyfriend or girlfriend on a weeknight, and it’s lovely enough to shine on a special occasion, too!
You’re probably asking yourself, “Why wouldn’t I just serve the pasta with the seafood in a bowl?” (By the way, you absolutely could do that too, just cook the pasta all the way first!). But imagine being a dinner guest or lucky spouse and having this beautiful packet of brown paper delivered to your plate. Then as you “unwrap” your mystery package, a glorious waft of fragrant steam whets your appetite. And when you peek inside the package, you see all the best things: pasta coated in a garlicky, slightly spicy white wine sauce, fresh seafood, juicy red cherry tomatoes that have burst from and mixed with the sauce, and gorgeous fresh herbs. Am I over-romanticizing pasta? Maybe. But it’s all true! I know I, for one, would be impressed and excited to dig in.
What makes it even better is how easy it is to make this dish. The whole thing takes less than 30 minutes, and while it’s baking, you can throw together a green salad for the perfect meal.
The first step is to prepare the parchment and cook the pasta. Cut a large sheet of parchment paper. It should be large enough so that a portion of pasta and seafood will fit in the middle and the sides can come up to cover it easily.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just under al dente (still chewy), boiling for about a minute or two less than directed on the package. Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of the water. If it is gluten-free pasta, briefly rinse the pasta to keep it from getting gummy.
Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, chile and garlic. Sauté until tender. Do not brown the garlic!
Add the clams, mussels, shrimp and cherry tomatoes and toss them with the oil, chile and garlic.
Add the wine along with the red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water.
Stir everything together and then put a lid on the pan.
Cook the pan of seafood, shaking the pan or stirring occasionally, for about 5–7 minutes until the clams and mussels have opened and the shrimp are pink. Remove the lid and add the parsley, chives and lemon zest.
Add the pasta to the seafood and toss well to coat.
If you need a little extra pasta water to get the sauce more fluid, you can add it a little at a time at this point. Season to taste with kosher salt.
Divide the pasta and seafood between the prepared parchment sheets.
Place the pasta in the center of the parchment and seal the parchment rounds up by gathering the paper up around the pasta, pinching and scrunching the edges together as you work around the paper oval.
When they are sealed into neat little packets with the seam on top, gently place them on a sheet pan. Bake the pouches for 5 minutes.
Serve immediately in the pouch! You want your guest(s) to unwrap the parchment paper on the plate and get that first waft of steam before enjoying.
If you want, add an extra little drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of fresh parsley and chives.
This recipe serves two people (hello, Valentine’s Day dinner) but it is really easy to double, triple, and so on. The sky’s the limit!
http://ift.tt/2lnfKfL
0 comentarios:
Publicar un comentario