Seafood Linguine

Now that the weather is warming up, I’ve started to limit my indoor treadmill training and increased my running outdoors. It’s a great way to soak up some vitamin D while exercising, getting the both of immune boosting vitamins and mood improving endorphins all at once.

Of course with this increase in cardio, I’ve noticed that my body is constantly craving sugars. In any form. It’s really easy for me to sit back and just scarf down a bar (or two…or three) of chocolate. However, the healthier more mature side of me has realized that it stems from a deeper need of getting the right fuel for my body so I can better perform. As much as I’d love to eat nothing but sweets and pastries all day, in order to up my performance while training I decided to cook myself a nice pasta dish instead (then end it with sweets, but that’s a blog for another time).

When it comes to pasta, I enjoy nothing more than the accompaniment of seafood and when it comes to seafood, I don’t like heavy creamy sauces. I like to keep the flavours of the seafood intact and really let it shine through on its own. Because of that, I opted to go with a Seafood Linguine with a light white wine sauce. The flavours of the tomatoes provide a bit of tartness and tanginess that compliments the seafood. If you use a nicer white wine, you can also pair it with the dish and be assured that it will go well together.

This is also a great meal to have a day or two before a big race, since the carbs in the pasta will ensure that your muscle’s glycogen stores are full and ready for the challenge. At the same time the protein in the seafood will provide the building blocks required to heal up any wear and tear on the muscle’s you’ve developed from training.

Of course this recipe works well for those of you who aren’t training because really…who doesn’t love pasta anyhow?

Ingredients:

1/2 box of linguine pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped or use a bit less if using dried herbs
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped or use a bit less if using dried herbs
1 tsp chili flakes
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
8 mussels
8 clams
6 medium shrimp
Salt
Pepper
1-2 tbsp butter (optional)

Parsley, chopped

Preparation:

In a large stock pot, add in water, 1 tbsp olive oil and a good amount of salt. Bring to a boil and add in the linguine. Cook for 8-9 mins or until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside. Do not rinse because the starch thickens up the sauce at the end.

In a skillet over medium to high heat, add in 1 tbsp of olive oil and stir in onions. Cook for 2 mins and add in the garlic. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.

Add in tomatoes, herbs and chili flakes and then the white wine. Let simmer for 3 mins before pouring in the chicken stock.

Allow the flavours to build, taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Once the flavours are where you want it to be; add the seafood.

First add the mussels and clams to the broth, let it cook for 5 mins before adding the shrimp. Once the mussels, clams open and the shrimp begin to curl you can turn off the heat. The residual heat will be enough to finish the dish.

For an extra bit of creaminess you can drop in a tablespoon or two of butter, which is completely optional if you wanted to keep the broth healthier.

When ready, put the pasta in to the sauce, stir and allow the pasta to soak up some of the flavours of the broth.

Plate, top with parsley and serve! This recipe makes enough for 2 people and is very easy to double up for 4 or even more. Enjoy!