Another pasta dish.. yes. Because everyone loves pasta. No matter where you are or what ingredients you have on hand, a pasta dish can come from it. And not to mention, those carbs... those ever-loving carbs. Why are carbs so good, anyhow? I wish I knew. Or I wish they had the same amount of calories in them as an apple. It's so unfortunate. This dish is also inspired by the Costa Rica trip. Any time I have known I was going to cook on vacation, I always pack a "chef's kit." My knife always comes with me along with Kosher salt, pepper, toothpicks, skewers, any spices I think I may need, and "special ingredients" because you never know what kind of grocery stores will be around you when you travel. Truffle butter was one of those special ingredients that came to Costa Rica with me, and it's a great thing it did because like I said in my last post, that grocery store blew my mind. They had nothing I wanted but apparently everything I needed to create two of the best pasta dishes ever, which also happen to be my first two posts on this blog. So Costa Rica... you've done a lot of right in my cooking world.
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Grocery List:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 shallots - chopped
1 garlic clove - minced
4 oz mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
2 lobster tails (you can do already cooked or uncooked.. cooking time will vary depending on which one you have)
1/2 lb shrimp - peeled, tails off (same here: cooked or uncooked, either will work fine)
1/2 lb crawfish tails (you can get these already peeled, but I used cooked unpeeled and Tres and I had fun peeling them together)
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz truffle butter
1 tsp salt and more to taste, plus 1 palm full for boiling the pasta
1/4 cup fresh parsley - chopped
Fresh Parmesan - shaved
Truffle oil - for drizzling
Directions:
Step 1
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan, add shallot and a dash of salt (You guys will see I do a lot of "salting" as I go. It helps soften veggies and enhances flavor along the way). Sautee until translucent. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add wine and let reduce by half.
Step 2
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Peel crawfish, lobster, and shrimp if necessary. Chop lobster into 1 inch pieces and cut each shrimp in half.
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Add the seafood with 1 tsp of salt. If the meat has already been cooked, it will just need to be heated through 2-3 minutes. If it's raw, cook until pink in color - about 5 minutes (be careful with this because when shell fish is cooked too much it becomes rubbery)
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Stir in cream and truffle butter and let heat about 1 minute.
Step 3
Boil pasta. Heat a pot over high heat with a palm full of salt. When it comes to a boil, add the pasta. Cook for 8-9 minutes or until al dente (cooked well but firm to bite).
Step 4
Combine the seafood sauce with the pasta and 1/4 cup of pasta water. Plate up the pasta and top with leftover parsley, parm shavings, and truffle oil.
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CHEERS TO HAPPY EATING!!!