Seafood & Saffron Pasta

Alan and I struggle sometimes with new recipe ideas to try with friends. You don't really want to just go cold turkey on something you've never made because it can turn out really bad and you don't have tons of time to devote to trying new recipes so you end up with a pretty limited list. With Susan & Rich coming over with Connor to get in some pool time, we were trying to come up with an interesting menu.

For lunch I made turkey club sandwiches on toasted ciabatta bread with lettuce, tomato, mayo and avocado. They would have been better if I hadn't gotten distracted by Connor's ridiculous cuteness and over toasted the bread...freakishly happy child!

For dinner we decided to try something other than steak and looked up variations on seafood pasta with saffron. This is a dish we've had with Alan's parents a few times but hadn't made ourselves (ever or not in a long time, can't remember). I had little neck clams, day boat scallops and jumbo shrimp and found a Jamie Oliver recipe that looked pretty good with saffron and garlic. If we made it again we'd try and get the sauce incorporated earlier or longer with the pasta and maybe add a little more cream and a little more red pepper flakes but overall, pretty tasty. It also heated up great the next day as a leftover.

1 to 1.5 pounds of pasta (we used thin spaghetti)
25 - 50 little neck clams, scrubbed
8-12 day boat or large sea scallops
20 jumbo shrimp, tail removed
2 cloves of garlic
1 - 2 shallots or small onion
1 cup white wine
1 generous pinch of saffron (we used three pinches and American saffron)
1/2 pint of heavy cream
fresh parsley
olive oil
Parmesan
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

Cook the pasta to al dente. Soak the saffron in the white wine and set aside. In a large saute pan add some olive oil and the garlic and shallots and saute for a few minutes over medium high heat. When the garlic starts browning, add the little neck clams to the pan and shake to coat them in the oil mixture. Heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the white wine saffron to the pan and bring to a boil. The clams will start to open after a few minutes. Discard any that don't open. When the clams have opened, layer the shrimp and then the scallops over top and pour the cream over everything. Sprinkle a handful of parsley and some red pepper flakes over the dish. Lower the temperature to medium, cover and continue to cook until the shrimp have turned pink on both sides. Stir gently to mix the cream into the white and incorporate the flavors. When the shrimp is cooked remove from heat. In a large serving dish / platter put down a bed of pasta and pour the seafood mixture on top. If you allow this to sit for a few minutes the pasta will absorb the sauce and the flavors. Serve with parmesan cheese and a salad.