This dish is a knock-out for impressing dinner guests or creating a little excitement on date night. If you are a fan of seafood pasta, this is undoubtedly the recipe for you. Squid ink spaghetti doesn't taste all too dissimilar from regular pasta but the final visual affect is ravishing, if you are keen to incorporate the powerful flavour of the ink into your cooking, I'd recommend using cuttlefish ink which can be added to rice and pasta dishes like the above. The wonderful colors of this dish are supported by punchy flavors supplied by the chili pepper, the crisp white wine and the garlic, absorbed by the plump cherry tomatoes, succulent prawns, golden scallops and their salty roes.
INGREDIENTS
4 large juicy scallops (preferably with roes also so these can be used in the sauce)
6 king prawns (preferably tails on)
200g of squid ink spaghetti
120g of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
250ml of fish stock
2 cloves of garlic, sliced finely
Freshly ground black pepper and salt
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 red chili pepper, seeds removed and sliced finely
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of dry white wine
INSTRUCTIONS
Carefully remove the roe from the scallops and de-vein. The roe is the orange attachment to the scallop and is extremely tasty, therefore it will be an essential element of your dish. Set the scallops aside for later.
In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil on a high heat and pan-fry the roe for about a minute, then add the garlic, chili and a pinch of sea salt.
Continue to fry until the garlic starts to turn golden. Add the white wine and simmer for two minutes. Add the chopped cherry tomatoes and fish stock then simmer the liquid for 8 minutes.
Remove the pan of sauce from the heat and reserve it for later.
Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to instructions until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.
Just before the spaghetti is ready, heat your sauce up in the pan ready for serving and in a separate frying pan fry your scallops and prawns. Sear the scallops to form a golden crust on each side and cook the prawns until pink and opaque, turn off the heat.
Place the prawns and scallops in your sauce, this way they will soak up the gorgeous flavors. Add the pepper and the chopped parsley, then check the seasoning.
Serve the pasta in hot bowls, then drizzle the sauce and delicious seafood on top.