Seafood Pasta

First, choose the seafood you like. We finally went with squid, shrimp, octopus and mussels in shells (you can also get without a shell, if you like).

I buy them all frozen (only the mussels are fresh) and I already have some favourite brands but that depends on the tastes. First of all, because the shellfish comes already cleaned and I trust it was frozen at the source and didn't have to stay "fresh" in the store for I don't know how long.

I completely thaw all of it. Remove all the impurities and the possible cleaning mistakes, and there are many! Then, rinse thoroughly several times and place in a sieve to drain.

This is the formula that makes me eat seafood with pleasure, knowing that I won't find any shells between my teeth :) This is one of the reasons why I've been avoiding seafood dishes so far.

One more thing - since you are buying several bags of shellfish. Finally, you'll end up with a bigger amount than necessary for the seafood pasta recipe.

I mix them all and then divide into 3-4 bags, place in the freezer. Next time, I cook them directly. I just thaw beforehand and I don't need to wash, clean, drain etc. anymore.

Before, we used to take frozen mussels, they were also one of the cheapest. But we don't like them that much and we decided to buy fresh mussels. They also make the food look interesting, without overloading the plate.

So I buy them fresh, keep in water for 2 hours, changing the water 2-3 times. Then I scrub them well with a metal sponge and remove the beards.

We finished with the specifications regarding the shellfish, so we already have it cleaned, washed, drained and combined. Now we start to make the sauce and the pasta. Meanwhile, bring some water to the boil for the pasta.

Sauce: In a deep frying pan, heat the olive oil and a cube of butter.

Add finely chopped onion and garlic, stir well and cook for 2 minutes.

Optionally, you can add chili flakes, cook for another minute.

Now place all the seafood in the pan, mix and cook for 3 minutes.

Pour the wine, stir.

Put the lid on and simmer for 5 minutes.

After this time, check if the mussels have opened, discard the ones which haven't, they are not good for consumption.

Pour the tomato sauce, simple mashed tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes.

You can put more than 400g of tomato sauce, if you like the pasta with more juice and sauce.

Stir well and let boil with the lid on for another 5 minutes.

Season with salt, add some greens - fresh/dried basil or parsley.

The sauce is ready, turn off the heat.

Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the package, drain and add it, hot like this, to the prepared sauce. Mix well.

Don't forget about and don't avoid a sprinkle of some grated Parmesan on top, when serving.

And it's done. Serve quickly, while it's hot.

Enjoy!