Linguine with Seafood and Citrus

I swear I’m not going to get emotional…I swear I’m not. Not gonna do it! Why am I getting all sentimental? Because I haven’t been inspired to write for a long time. But this weekend, I got the chance to hang out with some amazing friends, some old and some new, and throughout the day when the conversation turned to food, I began to miss cooking for the purposes of sharing recipes.

I don’t often get to share the actual dishes I create—but I can always share my recipes, and I love sharing food with others, even if it’s just through typed words on a page. It’s time to get back to what I love. So here goes. I don’t know how often I’ll get to post, I don’t know if anyone will read my recipes, and I don’t know if anyone will try to cook them…but I get to do what I love—cook, write, and share. Mangia, bitches!


Linguine with Seafood and Citrus

16 oz. linguine
2 oz. butter (1/2 a standard stick)
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 bulb fennel, sliced
2 T. capers
1 t. dried oregano
½ t. crushed chile flakes
Rind and juice of 1 large lemon
Rind and juice of 1 orange
½ c. dry white wine
1 lb. calamari, tubes sliced into rings*
½ lb. large scallops, sliced into bite-sized pieces**
2 cups roughly chopped parsley
2 large handfuls arugula
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash extra virgin olive oil

Cook the linguine in heavily salted water. In the meantime, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, being careful not to let it burn. When the garlic starts to become fragrant, add the fennel, capers, oregano, chile flakes, and lemon and orange rind (save the juice for the next step). Stir gently, stirring every few minutes, until the fennel slices have softened but are still firm.


Timing is important for these next few steps – when the pasta is about 2-3 minutes away from being cooked, add the lemon and orange juice and the wine to the pot with the fennel and seasonings. Turn the heat to high, and stir until the mixture is bubbling.  Add the calamari and the scallops, and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add the parsley and arugula to the pot, stirring just until it is blended in.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Immediately after adding the parsley and arugula, drain the pasta and add the cooked pasta to the pot. Add a splash of olive oil, then toss to coat the pasta. Serve piping hot preferably with wine.


* If tentacles give you the willies you can use all tubes, but tentacles add texture and make for a more interesting presentation.

** Always use “dry” scallops—the texture and flavor are superior. They’re more expensive, but you get what you pay for, and you won’t be ingesting a chemistry project.

Farro Pasta with Wild Arugula Pesto and Ricotta Salata

I think this is my first post since my vacation that doesn’t feature Southern or Caribbean food! I knew I’d snap out of vacation mode and once again source my inspiration from the ingredients and dishes I come across in my day-to-day travels.

Now that farmers’ market season is here, the inspiration is rolling in with far greater frequency than it does during the winter months. Kimball Fruit Farm’s tidy bundles of wild arugula (also known as Sylvetta arugula) inspired this simple, yet bold, pasta dish. If you cannot find wild arugula, readily available baby arugula can be substituted, but the flavor will be milder.

Farro Pasta with Arugula Pesto and Ricotta Salata

1 17 oz. / 500 g box farro pasta*
1 bunch wild arugula (about 6 loosely packed cups of leaves), washed and torn into bits
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. /60 mL peppery olive oil
dash hot chili oil**
Generous pinch salt
A few grinds black pepper
1 tomato, seeded and finely diced
2 oz. / 60 g ricotta salata, thinly sliced or shaved

Cook the pasta in salted water. In the meantime, put the arugula, garlic, olive oil, chili oil, salt, and pepper in a blender (Save $66 on Omega Commercial Blender at CHEFS) and puree until a paste is formed, adding more olive oil if necessary.

When the pasta is done, drain it in a colander and add it back to the pot. Immediately pour the arugula pesto over the pasta and toss until all strands are coated. Serve in individual bowls, sprinkling the tomatoes and ricotta salata on top of each portion. This dish pairs well with a dry, full-bodied white wine.

* To purchase ingredients used in this recipe, click the image below:



** I used my homemade Ghost Pepper Oil - it adds a good punch of heat without an overwhelming chili flavor.

Nutritional info: serves eight. 300 calories, 9 g fat, 44 g carbohydrates, 9 g protein.