This pasta dish is one of my favorite 'no sauce' recipes - it's brightly flavorful and has enough butter in it that the pasta stays moist and tender without needing a heavy sauce. I think the key is plenty of lemon so do spend a moment looking for a nice sized, ripe lemon. Grab two if they look stingy!
~serves 4-6 adults for dinner~
ingredients
- one seafood combo pack
- 1 pound pasta (we like rotini for this one!)
- 5 oz. fresh spinach (washed and trimmed)
- 4 T butter
- 1 large lemon (zest and juice)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 heaping T)
- 1/3 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Put a large pot of water on to boil and add about 1 tablespoon of salt. Once it's boiling, add your pasta and cook according to directions. (7 minutes for rotini.) When the pasta is done cooking, drain and then put it back into the pot. Drizzle liberally with olive oil (about a tablespoon), add the lemon zest and toss to combine. Put your spinach on top of the hot pasta and put a lid on the pot to let it steam/wilt.
Rinse your steamer clams from your Seafood Combo Pack in a colander, and then place them in the bottom of a nice big fry pan with tall sides. (Something with enough room to add the pasta at the end!) Drizzle the clams with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes, cover with a lid, and turn on medium high heat. Cook (stirring occasionally) for two minutes - after about a minute your clams will start to peek open and release some of their clam juice. Push the clams to the side of the pan, add the butter and the remaining ingredients from your Seafood Combo Pack. Season the prawns, scallops and cod with salt and pepper, and cook for 90 seconds. Flip everything over and cook for an additional 90 seconds. Add the lemon juice, turn down the heat to medium, and give the entire seafood garlic lemon butter pan a good stir to combine.
Pour the spinach and pasta over the top of the seafood and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Finish with a drizzle of oilve oil, a final sprinkle of salt and pepper, and fold to combine.
Serve with a chilled white wine (I am pouring a nice Oregon Pinot Gris with this one!) and... enjoy!
