A few days ago, I had posted a rare dessert recipe which called for using up leftover Melomakarona to make a cheesecake. 
One commenter observed that I don’t make desserts often but when I do…I go BIG!
I think it’s safe to say most Greek families are more reserved when it comes to desserts. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we have a sweet tooth just like any other ethnicity and our cuisine is loaded with many delicious sweets but as Greeks, we just don’t do dessert each day.
The Greek cuisine is all about seasonal, quality ingredients and be it summer or winter, an array of seasonal fruit is usually what appears on the the dinner table, post-geuma.
Enough of desserts, a segue from fruits to fruits de mer or…seafood. Regular readers of my blog know I love seafood. Were it not for my parents’ splurging on a summer home by the beach in Greece, I doubt I’d love seafood as much as I do now.
With some caution to your shopping habits, you can make smart choices about the food you eat, including your diet of seafood from sustainablee sources.
I’m a big proponent of fresh fish and seafood and the best seafood is the freshest seafood. There are however some decent preserved fish and seafood products like tins of tuna, salmon and sardines, some frozen fish fillets can do the trick and that once dreaded frozen “seafood medley” also falls under the category of a good, cheap source of seafood.
I have used the seafood medley in one other instance in my blog but this time I’ve opted for cleaner, leaner sauce than the roasted red pepper treatment of the other dish. Don’t get be wrong, I love roasted red peppers and smoked paprika but this pasta dish smells of the sea and frankly, reminds of the many quick pasta dishes I’d whip up for lunch during those hot summer days in Greece. The kitchen can be a sweltering place to hang out during the Greek summer.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a pasta dish, I’m hungry. Go grab a notepad, get a can of chopped plum tomatoes, thaw a package of frozen seafood, some onions, garlic, dry white wine and some Greek oregano (fresh or dried).
A quick dinner is on the menu, it’s filling, it’s cheap and it’ll transport you to that “al fresco” lunch I enjoy on those hot Greek summer days.
Seafood Pasta (MακαÏόνια με θαλασσινά)
serves 4
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can of plum tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
(or 1 Tbsp. dried Greek oregano)
1 400gr. pkge. of frozen seafood medly
(thawed)
approx. 400gr. of penne rigate
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of Greek Boukovo (or chilli flakes)
- Get a large pot of water on your stovetop and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt and cooking your penne according to instructions.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add your onions and garlic and reduce to medium and saute for about 5-7 minutes or until softened. Pour the wine into the pan and simmer until for a couple of minutes. Now add your tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat back to medium and and simmer until most of the water has evaporated and you’re left with a good, chunky sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the seafood medley to the sauce. Take off the heat, cover and keep warm. As soon as your pasta is ready (al dente), drain it and add the pasta to your waiting sauce along with your parsley and oregano
- . Toss the pasta with the sauce for a couple of minutes and divide and serve into four bowls. Sprinkle some Greek Boukovo (chilli flakes) and serve.
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© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
59 Responses
And what a beautiful pasta dish it is Peter! Look at those beautiful pieces of lobster!
Love Roasted peppers! That pasta looks & sounds like it would be a lovely meal to have while I sit by an ocean:-) that pic triggered that craving!
Thanks for sharing those pictures of greece.. they are sooo beautiful, wish I could visit sometimes in my lifetime.
Oooooohhhhhh, lovely. I, too, adore seafood and the simpler, the better. This looks wonderful.
Gosh Peter I can’t wait for summertime and seafood and being tan again. I miss being in the sun and swimming, plus I miss eating fresh seafood.
This dish nails it!
You could have fooled me that these came out of a frozen bag! They look so succulent and fresh! This would probably be my wish for my last dinner on earth.
That is a beautiful dish. I’ll have to look for frozen seafood medley in the store.
Oooh Peter, this looks absolutely beautiful and delish! My kind of meal, really ;-)
two of my favorite ingrdients in combination: pasta and seafood
Be still my heart! This looks amazing Peter. I am with you, I adore seafood. You told me you could live off shrimp and scallops; I could live off shrimp and oysters!
This looks wonderful! I love that there are bug pieces of seafood in there.
I can’t believe it came from the frozen aisle, it looks so fresh. I love it! Definitely our kind of dinner.
Is it me or do your photos( which are always excellent) look even more so? Terrific dish. I love my seafood.
Looks delicious Peter but what pasta dish have I ever been able to resist!!!
What a gorgeous pasta dish! Deliciously summerlike…
Cheers,
Rosa
That looks delicious!
Delicious and luxurious pasta Peter. I can just eat this every single day.
Cheers,
Elra
I found that in Greece they are more likely to serve fresh seasonal fruit for dessert, which my hops would thank them for:D
Now that’s my kind of pasta dish. I love every ingredient you used. Delicious Peter.
I love seafood! And this dish is gorgeous and looks so flavorful.
Frozen seafood medley? I’ve never seen it at the store, but it sure sounds like my kind of ingredient! That must be your dad – I do see a family resemblance although you have a much better tan. HA! As for dessert, when I first got married I thought something had happened to my baking skills – my husband never wanted my beautiful desserts. I finally figured out that he just didn’t like eating sweets after dinner. Greeks!
I love this and Trader Joes sells a great medley that would be perfect in this kick ass dish!!!
Mmmm … yummy! Perfect timing, too, for those who celebrate the Lenten season. I’ll be needing seafood recipes for the next 40 days or so! I just love how that sauce is peeking out from inside the penne, and the seafood looks divine. YUM!
Please tell me that you added those crayfish tails and that they were not part of the seafood mix. Our seafood mixes are pretty bland! Great dish and So easy to throw together!
Living in the midwest, fresh seafood is hard to come by .. I buy the seafood medley also :) This dish screams delish! Adding it to my files.
Seafood pasta always gets a big round of applause here, so there’s no way I’d ever pass up your delicious-looking dish.
Ok, with the omission of the octopus, which I doubt I’ll ever find around here, and so, it shall remain safely in its ocean home. But everything else will be going in the pot.
Peter, that does look wonderfully satisfying.
I haven’t heard of the seafood medley – where do you find it?
Definitely something I should have on hand.
This makes me want to book a ticket to Greece ASAP.
Because of your grey background, the pictures load up before the verbiage. These had me drooling, Peter. There is nothing like seafood and pasta for a fast and easy dinner!
ohh..I mama mia!!! Peter, I love pasta and seafood.
hmmm..look delicious.
I must try this food and I know greece is good with seafood.
Those are some of the chunkiest bites of seafood in a pasta we’ve seen in a while. Mesmerizing.
This looks great! Imagine how much you’d be charged if you ordered a dish like this at a restaurant!
Oh my gosh, when I saw the title I thought it would be some pasta with few shrimp in it, not this gorgeous explosion of seafood!
Hey can I say???? Look absolutely wonderful my dear Peter!!! Gloria
Nice and simple and delicious, Peter. But what do you mean enough desserts? I could always use more. :D
Wow Peter! This is my fiance’s dream!!!
Beautiful looking seafood — I’m not sure that I’ve seen a seafood medley in the markets here, but a lobster tail or two will always be available in our Rhode Island markets.
Oh wow! You’re killing me! This looks just so amazing! (We just got in from dinner a little while ago and now I’m hungry again!)
+Jessie
frozen seafood medley… cracking me up MAYJAH. the thing is, this does not look like frozen seafood, it that octopus looks pretty damn fresh!
Such a lovely looking dish Peter – I just wish Mr B would eat seafood. Next time you make it I’ll pop over, let me know when!
OMG…. the seafood pasta looks so fantastic!
Stunning seafood!
Wow, thid dish is calling me,… MMMMM… I love the seafood & especially the octopus,….MMMM…
I agree that the best seafood is always the freshest. However, here in Ohio fresh seafood comes with a big price tag. Sometimes I’d love to move to the Mexican coast just to get fresh, inexpensive seafood every day :-p Your pasta made me hungry, is it lunch time yet?
Thanks for this recipe. The freshest seafood out there isn’t always available to everyone at every time of year, so making use of frozen and giving it ways to taste better can be a real plus.
That octopus looks DELICIOUS!!
Wow!!
My mouth is watering.
Just discovered your blog, and am already plotting how I can
a) get myself back to the greek islands asap, and
b) before I swing that, return to toronto’s greektown for an appetizer… I’d almost forgotten how authentic and fun Danforth street is!
Unfortunately only one of the above is going to free me from this oppressive Cleveland winter…
Lovely dish, Peter. I’d have never guessed that you used frozen seafood! I’ve never seen “seafood medley” here. Is there a particular brand? A product like that would certainly be popular around here.
I love pasta and seafood, so that’s a perfect dish for me!!!
Also perfect photos Peter:))
oh, oh! Look at those gorgeous tentacles! What a great dish, Peter. As one who lives in the MidWest, I salute you for showing us what can be done with a bit of frozen seafood!!
Is the seafood medley from TJ’s?
Peter you have a rare gift to cook seafood. i am always impressed by your recipes and of the half-naked beach photos ;-)
I don’t know what I am having a better time looking at–the lobster in that pasta dish or the beach photos! Love it!
This dish looks and sounds utterly amazing–definitely one of my favorites. I love all things seafood and don’t make it quite enough.
I’ll be waiting for your BIG dessert, Peter.
Look at you showing some skin on the beach! hehe. Trying to drive the ladies wild? :-) Great pasta, love all that seafood. mmmmm!
Ummm, when are you coming to my home to make this for me. No, I take that back…I would like this on the greek coast… this weekend perhaps!
Okay…sadly back to reality. that IS lovely though!
I’m so lucky to have fresh seafood just by the street corner! Your pasta dish inspired me today… my parents are comming over for lunch :D. This kind of dish is always a winner ;D
I can’t believe those were frozen seafood. The one that I bought didn’t turn out too great especially the squid. lol.
Im so gonna make this and maybe I should just use fresh seafood. ;)
This was fabulous! I used a frozen seafood medley (raw octopus, raw cuttlefish, raw calamari, raw shrimp, and cooked clams or mussels). So easy to prepare, with amazing results. Thank you for sharing!