The Duo Dishes

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Cheaters Sometimes Win

August 31, 2009 · 27 Comments

Seafood and Eggplant Fettucine-Duo Dishes

There’s something about eggplants that make them super tasty.  Not sure what it is, but they’re good.  The fact that they are so versatile, it’s easy to work them into a variety of dishes.  Carb cravings came on strong, and it was time to have a little pasta.  Pasta and eggplants!  Now, sometimes you have to cut corners to make things happen.  Perhaps you shouldn’t do it if you’re running a marathon or taking the SAT, but we’re talking about cooking here.  There are no ingredient police hanging out in our ‘hood, so it’s OK to cheat when necessary.  It seems like whenever we want to do something good and fast, our friend Joe (yes, the one who is a Trader) always hooks it up!  We had this really great jar of eggplant spread that hadn’t been opened, and it seemed like the next best thing to a fresh eggplant.

Disclaimer:  In no way should the title of this dish cause you to think that we’ve cheated our way into the Black Weblog Awards!  Nope, you voted us in, and now you have to help us win!  Today’s the last day to vote, so exercise your right and pick us.  Just click the icon!  Oh so many thanks!
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Now back to our original programming…

The funny thing about this dish is that it originally started out with chicken.  That is, we planned to toss in cooked chicken breast.  As we were walking through the aisles, we noticed a bag of Trader Joe’s Seafood Blend, and we were struck with the notion that a mélange of sea goodies would be the way to go.  And that is how this huge pasta dish was studded with gems of the sea rather than landlubber chicken.  We daresay either one would’ve been delicious.  Perhaps even tofu next time?  This is a very flexible dish, so have at it.  Thanks to that eggplant in a jar, we were able to get all the flavors we were looking for without taking another trip to the grocery store.  If you have any favorite ‘cheats’ that you use in the kitchen, we’d love to hear!

Seafood and Eggplant Fettuccine – Serves 8
1 pound whole wheat fettuccine, cooked
1 pound Trader Joe’s Seafood Blend (bay scallops, shrimp, calamari rings)
1 orange bell pepper, minced
6 ounces fresh spinach, roughly chopped
12 ounces Trader Joe’s Eggplant Garlic Spread
1/2 yellow onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1 1/2  teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 1/2  tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil
Kosher salt

1.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a very wide pan or wok on the stove and set to medium heat.  When hot, add garlic, bell pepper and onions.

2.  Once veggies begin to soften, add frozen seafood.  Cook for 3-5 minutes or seafood begins to turn opaque.

3.  Add pasta, spinach, eggplant spread and sour cream.  Stir to incorporate and heat through, cooking for another 3-5 minutes.

4.  Toss with red pepper flakes, rosemary and parsley just before serving.

Click HERE for the printable recipe.

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Categories: Main Dishes · Pasta · Seafood
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