HEY!
seafood fettuccine
fettuccine-\ fettutˈtʃiːnə \
origin-Italy
home cooking - episode 02
Irene, this is for you.
Did you know that "fettuccine" literally means "little ribbons" in Italian? #cute! We'll start off with the sauce and end with the scallops. These photos are captured raw with love. Email me if you have questions.
Ready? (you gonna want to see the last photo!)
Some chopped onions, some crushed garlic cloves, a few sprinkles of nutmeg, all slightly glazed in corn oil, then we pour in the jar of happiness, all of them.
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Tips: when caramelizing your onions and garlic, throw in a pinch of sugar to create a better colour! The sugar will help with the taste of your jarred tomatoes too.
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With the onion specifically, a pinch of salt over them when you first throw them in the pan will help to fasten your caramelizing process! (the salt helps to draw the water out of the onions faster).
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If you want to achieve a completely brown mixture before adding the jarred tomatoes, add a splash of white wine at the first time you notice they're turning brown.
Would you just look at those well-soaked and silky tomatoes! Now, it would be a national crime if I don't add some amazing bay leaves.
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Fun fact: not a lot of folks are aware of this, but bay leaves have some superb health benefits including improving digestion, respiratory conditions, hair-care, anti-inflammatory activities, and more! More of these facts from Organic Facts.
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For a 16oz size jar, I added about 4 leaves.
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Seasoning: sugar, salt, and pepper.
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Tip: before moving to the next step, keep your heat at low (3/10) and let the leaves sit in your tomatoes for about 5-7 minutes.
Now remember, you won't be able to complete this step if you've drained your fettuccine and didn't keep any of the starch water. So, save yourself a little bowl of the pasta water!
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I added two big spoons of pasta water after the sauce was slightly reduced.
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Debate this: people have been arguing over the need of adding those spoons of pasta water and whether they really make a difference.
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Answer is: they do make a difference. And of course I have concrete evidence, so check out the case study here at Serious Eats.
This step is really a personal choice, so don't feel like you have to go through this step!
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I love a creamy and silky texture to my sauce, so this box of 15% table cream does the job! Quantity was about 1/2 soup spoon.
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The table cream will also have to thicken your sauce a little bit more.
I love my shrimps with their heads off and tails on. It's like taking away their power but leaving back a little bit of some dignity, like the hard and well-shaped tails.
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Seasoning: garlic powder, salt, pepper, and lemon zest.
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Tiger shrimps: I got them frozen inside a package with their shelves on. I find the ones with their shells on have a more solid meat texture once cooked.
Make sure there's just enough oil to glaze over the surface between your shrimps and the pan but not too much where the oil starts to cover all of your pan's surface.
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When frying, don't wait for the oil to come to boiling heat. You should drop the shrimps in and let them cook with the oil as the heat goes up as shrimps get dry easily and dropping them straight into a high-heat oil pan will suck out all the H20 inside them!
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Would you just look at those spectacular tails! They are the final touch to a beautifully pan-fried shrimp.
These mini scallops work for this dish as they are not the dish's hero! If you were to favour scallops to be your hero, you can use big-size scallops and reduce your shrimps to smaller rather than "tiger."
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Seasoning: lemon zest is key when searing scallops as well as garlic powder along with salt and peppers.
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Make sure you dry them out before throwing in the seasoning! It is also notable that you should by the scallops frozen if you can't find the actual "dry" ones that have been soaked in brine-like solutions to help prevent them from drying up their moisture. More info here.
Opposite to the shrimps, throw in your scallops when the oil is well-heated!
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They are easy to be overcooked, especially for these tiny guys, so you're looking at 1 minute for each side at high heat. Some golden-brown colour edges with translucent centre are what you're looking for.
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Work with them quickly and don't be distracted by your hot neighbour!
...throw them together! (don't forget to add some love)
Tiger Shrimp
Mighty, and delicious!
Tomato Paste
from the jarred tomamtoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Sliced in half
Scallop
Golden, and filled with flavours from the ocean.
Fettuccine
Al dente