Japanese-inspired Seafood Pasta

Usually our weekends are really hectic. The only time where M is around, when we're brave enough to bring all the kids out. After a late lunch at our favourite Botanic Gardens and a swim later, the kids were so tired that it made putting them to bed a breeze. A little time left for us before we retire to bed too.

With the extra time in my hands and a craving for something Japanese, I made this pasta. The recipe was all from my head, inspired by En Dining & Bar "Mentaiko Pasta". Mentaiko (明太子) is the marinated roe of pollock, and is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine. I didn't have Mentaiko so my best alternative was Lumpfish Caviar, beads of glistening orange roe.

So here's my recipe, adding some lovely wild prawns and coral trout fillets and a sprinkle of "nori" for the Japanese finish! You may use other types of seafood - mussels, squid, crayfish, all depends on what you like or what you can buy that day! And if you like wine in your stock, you may add 1/2 cup to the stock, reduce the prawn stock to 1 cup instead.


Creamy Seafood Pasta with Mentaiko
(serves 2)

Prawns, deshelled & deveined
Fish fillets, without skin, deboned
2 tablespoon of mentaiko or lumpfish caviar
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.5 cups prawns stock (made from the shells of the prawns, that's why its best to buy prawns with shells and shell it yourself!)
1/2 cup single/whipping cream
Oven roasted tomatoes (roasted in oven at 150 degrees for at least 30 minutes)
Bunch of Enoki & Shimeiji mushrooms
Nori (seaweed)
Salt & pepper to taste
Pasta - spaghetti boiled in salted water, drained

Method:
1. To roast the tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters. Tossed with some olive oil and sugar, roast in pre-heated 150 C oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
3. Heat pan over medium fire with olive oil. Fry prawns and fish fillets until just cooked. Remove.
2. Heat pan over medium fire again. Fry garlic until light golden. Add prawn stock and bring to boil. Then add cream. When stock has come to boil, add mushroom. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Add prawns and fish to heat through, then add pasta to toss with the ingredients. Switch off fire.
4. Lastly add fish roe to pasta, stir through.
5. Serve with shredded nori.