Recipe: Creamy Garlic Seafood Pasta, Creamy White Wine Sauce

Creamy Garlic Seafood Pasta
Recipe by: J.M Gan, Singapore
Description: A yummy creamy pasta with fettuccine, seafood and lots of garlic
Serves: 2

200 grams fettuccine
3 cloves of garlic, minced fine
1 cup of raw small shrimp, peeled and de-veined (save the prawn heads)
1 cup of smoked fish, (salmon, cod, whatever) pan-fried
half cup of raw squid rings
half cup of raw mussels (or clams)
half cup fresh liquid cream
half cup white wine (doesn't matter what type)
4 fresh medium sized button mushrooms, sliced
one small clump of pak choy (Chinese vegetable) rinsed and separated
half a lime, cut into wedges
1 cube vegetable stock
2 cups water
salt, fresh ground black pepper and grated parmesan cheese to taste
2 teaspoons of olive oil
4 teaspoons of butter

Preparation:
Boil pasta in water, with some salt and one teaspoon of olive oil. When pasta is cooked to the texture that you like, drain and rinse in cold water, then drain again.

Meanwhile, chop the garlic until it is a fine mince. Shell and de-vein prawns, saving the heads. Cut up squid into rings. Dissolve the vegetable stock and add in the pak choy and prawn heads, bring to the boil in a pot, then add in half of the wine. Keep the fire on a medium heat. Slice up mushrooms. Pan fry the smoked fish in one teaspoon of butter, then use a fork and flake it into pieces. When the stock has condensed into half the amount of liquid it was previously, remove the vegetables and prawn heads, add in half the cream and boil until sauce is creamier and thicker. This will take about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, panfry half the garlic with the remaining olive oil until soft but not brown. Add in 2 teaspoons of butter to the garlic and fry the seafood on a high heat for a minute, add remaining white wine and cook for another half minute.

Remove the seafood and fry the mushrooms until soft, then remove. Add in the remaining butter to a large pan, fry the remaining garlic until soft but not brown. Add in the pasta and fry one a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add in the sauce and fry until the sauce is a desired concentration. Add in fish, seafood, and mushrooms, along with remaining cream and the grated parmesan cheese to taste. When well coated, removed from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a wedge of fresh lime.

Hint: To really impress, add in raw lobsters and scallops, no oysters though. Also, if you really have to, you can simply buy a pre-packed frozen cooked seafood mix to substitute to fresh seafood, although it won't taste as good. Don't waste the pak choy or prawn heads - they taste great after boiling in broth for so long.

Creamy White Wine Sauce
Makes 8 servings

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the cream, wine, flour, salt and parsley. Stir all together bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened.