SAWCLicious Recipes: Spaghetti with Mussels & Shrimps in Tomato Sauce

I just came from San Francisco and my apartment is still a mess since I have to arrange my things after living in a suitcase for 2 weeks. So today, I quickly went to the grocery and grabbed some seafood and fresh tomatoes as I planned to cook a quick healthy pasta dinner. Fresh tomatoes simmered in garlic and some herbs topped with mussels and shrimps sauteed in garlic. Easy to cook that makes a delicious warm meal.

Spaghetti with Mussels & Shrimps in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 6 ripe tomatoes diced
• 7 cloves of garlic minced
• 4 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. herbes de provence (You can substitute with 1 tsp. dried basil, 1 tsp. dried oregano and 1/2 tsp. dried thyme. You can also use fresh herbs if you have it available, include 5-6 leaves of fresh basil and a tsp of fresh oregano and thyme)
• 1/2 kilo mussels
• 1 chicken cube (bouillon cube)
• 2 tsp. dried garlic powder
• 2 tsp. dried parsley
• 1.5 liters of water
• 10 pcs. uncooked shrimps peeled
• knob of butter
• Spaghetti
• salt & pepper
• fresh parsley for garnishing
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Grated cheese
• Optional: Top with Chili Garlic Flakes.

Procedure

1. In a low heat pan, add 3 tbsp. of olive oil. Add 1/2 of the minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Then, season with sugar, salt, pepper, and allow it to simmer in low heat for another 20 minutes (covered).
2. In a pot, add the 1L of water, chicken cube, dried garlic powder, dried parsley, salt & pepper. Once the pot is boiling, add the mussels. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the shells open up. Remove the mussels from the pot. Do not drain the water. I removed the top shell of the mussels.
3. Add another 1/2 liter of water to the pot and let it boil. Add 1 tbsp. of coarse salt and once it starts boiling, add the spaghetti and cook 1-2 minutes less than the packaging instruction.
4. Strain the pasta and mix together with the pasta sauce.  Pour 1 cup of the boiled mussels soup to the pasta sauce. Let it simmer in the pan without the cover for another 2-3 minutes.
5. In a separate pan, add 1-2 tbsp. of olive oil and saute the rest of the garlic. Add the shrimps and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Once the shrimp turns pinkish, add the mussels and let it absorb the butter.
6. To serve, place pasta in a plate. Top with mussels and shrimps and some of the butter sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and grated cheese.