The Kitchen: John's Shrimp and Scallop Romanoff With Seppia Pasta

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

6 sea scallops

4 large shrimp, peeled

1 396ml can oven-fired tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes

½ cup shallots, chopped

2 cloves (or more) garlic, roughly chopped

¼ cup 35% cream (for the classic Romanov style, optional)

¼ cup vodka

1-2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

¼ -½ tsp harissa paste (or ¼ tsp peperoncino peppers)

¼ cup snipped chives + some for garnish

Salt & pepper

250g Tagliatelle “Nero di Seppia” (squid ink noodles) or your favourite pasta. (Seppia can be bought at Intermarché Palumbo.)

Reserve 1 cup of pasta water

METHOD

-Put pasta in boiling water. Reserve 1 cup pasta water when pasta is near al dente

-Heat olive oil and harissa in a saucepan over medium heat

-Add butter and sauté shallots until tender

-Add garlic and stir for 1 minute

-Add tomatoes — stir to mix

-Add vodka 

-If adding cream, stir. Allow sauce to reduce and thicken slightly.

-Add salt and pepper to taste

-Add snipped chives and stir

-Drain pasta, add to the pan, and use up to ½ cup pasta water to thin, if necessary. If sauce is too thick, add additional pasta cooking water.

-Toss to coat with sauce

When sauce is complete and pasta nearly cooked, heat frying pan to hot with a thin film of olive oil and sear the scallops 2 minutes per side. Place scallops on a preheated plate. Lower heat, add a bit of minced garlic, and sauté shrimp until pink. Place shrimp on a warm plate. Place pasta with sauce in prewarmed bowls and top with the scallops and shrimp.