Recipe: Seafood Pasta Paella

Do you ever eat something that blows your mind & you have to have it again...soon. That was the case with this dish. The first time was on Friday night & then again the same weekend, even. Earlier in the day, on Friday, I picked up some Key West Pink Shrimp & a pound of mussels. The support for the fresh shell fish, thin spaghetti, saffron infused fish bouillon, asparagus, red peppers & lots of garlic & shallots. The makings for dinner time bliss.

Paella is traditionally made with rice, so it makes since that pasta would be a good stand-in. The traditional pasta of choice is fideo noodles from Spain, but broken up thin spaghetti works just fine.

We enjoyed this with a 2004 Protocolo Rose' & it was simply d-frikkin-lish. The wine choice was very fitting being a Spanish wine & Paella being a celebratory Spanish dish. It was a big, spicy, dry Rose' & suited the shellfish perfectly. It was also a steal at $6.99.

Seafood Pasta Paella
*this serves enough for 2 with leftovers.

Olive oil
12 ounces fideo noodles or broken up thin spaghetti (about 2"pieces)
5 cloves of garlic
1 shallot
crushed red pepper to taste
3 cups fish bouillon (or clam juice) diluted with one cup of H2O
small pinch of saffron
salt to taste
handful chopped asparagus
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 lbs. of mussels
1 pound of shrimp (peel 'em if you want...we didn't)
any other seafood you see fit
parsley

Heat the oil in a dutch oven, over medium heat. Add pasta stirring constantly until brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic & red pepper, stir about 30 sec. until aromatic. Soak saffron in liquid. Add liquid & bring to a boil. Season with S & P to taste. Add veggies. Cover & cook over medium heat until pasta is barely al dente. Add H2O if necessary. Add mussels cook for 4 mins. or until all mussels are open. Add shrimp, cook until pink,m then remove from heat immediately. Sprinkle with parsley & serve with a crust piece of bread to sop up all of the juicy goodness.
VOILA!