Primavera with Seared Seafood

I have made several recipes from a particular issue of Cuisine at Home magazine, and even had the Primavera with Seared Seafood marked, but had never had the opportunity to prepare it until recently. Big, huge error on my part! Rarely do I come across a recipe that is so delicious, so easy and so very company-worthy.

There were a few changes to the recipe, however. First, Jack hates goat cheese despite my attempts to introduce it into dishes so that he will become accustomed to it. It was a pain to do this, but after simmering the vegetables in the pasta water I transferred a little more than half into another pan. In one pan went the goat cheese, in Jack’s portion I added neufatchel. I did taste his, and while it was good, I much prefer the tangy flavor of the goat cheese. And, surprise, the goat cheese contained less fat that the neufatchel!

Speaking of goat cheese, I decreased the amount called for in the recipe. I used 1 ounce in my portion, and felt that it was the perfect amount for me—nice and flavorful with that goat cheese “tang”, but not overpowering.

Also, I did not have broccoli so I used twice as much asparagus, and I doubled the seafood as well. Oh, why not?

Now, look at this beautiful dish. There was nothing about this recipe that I did not like—the lemon and goat cheese flavors blended so well with the seafood and vegetables and pasta. Heavenly. And I plan to make this for my parents when we visit them later this month because they also will love it, I’m sure.

A note, I tasted Jack’s portion with the neufatchel cheese and although it was quite good, I will continue to make my serving with goat cheese because it added so much flavor.

Here is the recipe as it appeared in Cuisine at Home. My changes of adding more seafood and decreasing the goat cheese saved me a total of 7 grams fat, 4 saturated. This meal was higher in fat than I would like, so every little bit helps, I guess!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Primavera with Seared Seafood

Recipe By : Cuisine at Home magazine
Serving Size : 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 tablespoons olive oil -- divided
4 jumbo shrimp
4 large sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
salt and pepper
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup asparagus tips
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup bell pepper -- (yellow and/or orange), diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 ounces linguine -- or tagliatelle
3 1/4 ounces goat cheese
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes -- halved
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 small lemon -- cut into 2 wedges

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

Toss the seafood, zest, and seasonings in 1 tablespoon of oil and set aside.

Sweat the broccoli, asparagus, onion, and bell pepper in 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook until the onion begins to turn translucent, about 5 minutes., then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute 1 minute longer.

Cook the pasta in boiling water.

Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the vegetables and simmer until they are crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the goat cheese until melted, then add the tomatoes, peas, parsley, and salt & pepper to taste.

Transfer the cooked pasta from the water to the pan using tongs; toss to coat with sauce. Keep the pasta warm over very low heat.

Heat a nonstick skillet over mediuim-high. Sear the scallops until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn them over, add the shrimp, and cook the seafood for an additional 4-5 minutes or just until the scallops and shrimp are firm.

To serve, divide the pasta and vegetables between 2 plates, top with seafood, garnish with lemons.

Source:
"CAH Issue 63"

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Per serving: 574 Calories (kcal); 31g Total Fat; (48% calories from fat); 29g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 72mg Cholesterol; 244mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 4 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

And here is the salad that I served with it. What a Spring theme this meal had! The dressing was a lemon-garlic vinaigrette which I don’t use a recipe for (I use olive oil, fresh lemon juice, honey, Dijon, garlic, salt and pepper). I also served slices of the rosemary-olive oil boulé which I posted about a week ago.

One final note. Spooky is not fond of human food (which is a good thing because, although he thinks that he is one, his digestive system is definitely that of a cat). He has never really "begged" , even for seafood when we have it, and when I give him a small piece of fish or shrimp he will sniff at it and walk away. As we ate our seafood primavera, though, he wandered into the kitchen and sat on the floor beside Jack. When my husband was done eating, he allowed Spooky up on his lap where, immediately, Spooky's keen sense of smell directed him to the bowl, which he licked clean.