Quick-cooking but misunderstood, seafood pastas are too often dismissed as restaurant-only fare. But with a little attention to technique and timing, linguine alle vongole and shrimp pad thai, and endless variations thereof, can (and we say should!) easily become part of your kitchen's weeknight rotation.
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Linguine, canned tomatoes, sardines, vermouth, breadcrumbs, garlic, chili flakes, fennel and lemon.
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First step: toast the breadcrumbs. We used panko.
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Lastnightdinner has you start the sauce with some of the oil from the sardine can. We'd never done this before!
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Our mandoline made quick work of the fennel and gave us delicate, even slices.
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A little garlic -- we thought next time we might try adding it later on, so that it wouldn't color as much.
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We just softened the fennel before continuing with the sauce.
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Then we added the chili flakes and squeezed the canned tomatoes into the pan, adding their juices too.
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Once the sauce had reduced slightly, it was time for one of our favorite ingredients: vermouth.
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The sardines go in towards the end, and it's important not to break them up too much -- you want some nice chunks.
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A little lemon juice...
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While the lemon zest goes in with the breadcrumbs.
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Toss the pasta with the sauce, top with breadcrumbs and fennel fronds, and voila!
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A colorful array of red onion, garlic, carrot, cucumber, radish, scallion, ginger, edamame, sriracha, honey, yogurt, black sesame, rice noodles and catfish.
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Back in the kitchen together again! And making pickles.
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We thought the pickling liquid looked quite captivating before we whisked everything together.
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Melissav says you can use any combination of the veggies she mentions -- we went with all of them.
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The marinade for the fish.
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Toasting black sesame seeds brings out a sweet, rich, nutty flavor. But be careful not to scorch them!
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We coated the catfish completely in the marinade, using a bowl rather than a plastic bag -- it worked just fine.
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A quick broil glazes the fish nicely.
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Meanwhile, we whipped up the yogurt sauce with sriracha and honey.
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And cooked the rice noodles and edamame.
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We love melissav's technique of using some of the pickling liquid to flavor and moisten the noodles.
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Serving dramatics.
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Talk about colorful!
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