This is one of my favorite pasta recipes. I give credit to my American parents, Chris & Gerry Ailts, who created this delicious dish & made it almost every weekend while I lived with them for almost 5 years after first moving to the US from Russia. If you have the time, this pasta tastes amazing with homemade pesto - a traditional Italian sauce consisting of crushed garlic, basil & pine nuts blended with extra virgin olive oil & Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. I made this recipe using the ingredients found in Trader Joe's - grocery store I shop at most often.
Ingredients:
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, grated or chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 of yellow pepper, diced
1/2 of red pepper, diced
4-5 small white or Shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
One 12 oz bag of Trader Joe's frozen Langostino Tails or shrimp, defrosted
One 1 lb bag of Trader Joe's frozen Wild Jumbo Scallops, defrosted
1 lb of Trader Joe's Italian Capellini ("angel hair" pasta)
6.7 oz (1 jar) of Trader Giotto's Pesto alla Genovese (basil pesto)
Half of 8.5-oz jar (or more to taste) of Trader Joe's Sun Dried Tomatoes in olive oil
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to taste
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. In the meantime, saute onion, carrots, garlic, yellow/red peppers, mushrooms & sun dried tomatoes in olive oil for about 5" on medium heat. Add shrimp & scallops & saute 5-10" more until seafood turns opaque color, but is not overcooked. Take the sauteing pan off the heat & mix vegetables & seafood with pesto sauce (in order to preserve the delicate flavor of pesto sauce it should not be cooked). Set aside until angel hair pasta is ready (cook according to the time length recommended on the package). Add cooked pasta to the vegetable/seafood/pesto mixture & gently coat with pesto sauce. Serve with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on top.
My American family usually serves this recipe with a green salad & whole-grain rustic bread with extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar on the side.
