INGREDIENTS FOR PASTA SAUCE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Finely slice the bacon. Pick the mint leaves and discard the stalks. Finely grate the Parmesan. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and drop in the stock cube (if using). Stir until it’s dissolved, then add the mini shells and cook according to the packet instructions. Get a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a good lug of olive oil. Add the bacon to the pan, sprinkle a little pepper over and fry until golden and crisp.
  2. Meanwhile, finely chop your mint leaves. As soon as the bacon is golden, add your frozen peas and give the pan a good shake. After a minute or so, add the crème fraîche and chopped mint to the bacon and peas. Drain the pasta in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water.
  3. Add the pasta to the frying pan. Halve your lemon and squeeze the juice over the pasta. When it’s all bubbling away nicely, remove from the heat. The sauce should be creamy and delicious but if it’s too thick for you, add a splash of the reserved cooking water to thin it out a bit. Add the grated Parmesan and give the pan a shake to mix it in.
  4. Divide your pasta between plates or bowls, or put it on the table in a large serving dish and let everyone help themselves. Lovely with a simply dressed green salad.

Steps:

• Pour a glass of wine for the cook, saving 1/4 cup for the recipe. ;-)
• Cook pasta in salted water till it's al dente. I make the lemon butter sauce while the water is coming to a boil because the sauce is very quick.
• Saute onions in butter and olive oil on medium-high heat until tender. Add shrimp and scallops and saute until shrimp just starts to turn pink and is almost done, but not quite. Overcooking the shrimp and scallops makes them very tough. Also, the giant scallops take a long time to cook so I cut them in half to match the cooking time of the shrimp if I can't find smaller ones.
• Add lemon zest, lemon juice, white wine, salt, and pepper. c=Cook for a few more minutes till bubbly and seafood is done.
• Pour lemon butter sauce over drained (NOT RINSED) pasta and toss with grated cheese and pine nuts. Serve and enjoy an amazing seafood pasta.
• Trader Joe's market has its frozen seafood blend of peeled raw shrimp, scallops, and calamari that I normally use. If you can find a combo bag of shellfish like this at your local market it is both super delicious and easy, just defrost and pour in.