Frutti di Mare with Donatella

I finally found an opportunity to try out my Donatella tomato sauce. My preparation was super easy and the result was well beyond my expectations.

I started by defrosting a frozen seafood blend of scallops, shrimp and calamari from Trader Joe's. After a brief saute in a pan with some minced garlic, I added the jar of Donatella arrabbiata sauce along with a bit of chicken stock. A generous squirt of tomato paste, salt, pepper, garlic powder and some crushed red pepper and I was done. Convenience food at its very best!

In hindsight, some squid ink pasta would have made this dish absolutely incredible, but I made do with the whole wheat pasta I had on hand. When the water boiled, I turned off the heat from the sauce so as not to overcook the seafood and let the flavors meld. When the pasta was al dente, I added a heaping portion of freshly chopped parsley to the sauce and gently mixed in the pasta.

Even though it is made from San Marzano tomatoes, I was surprised at how fresh and tasty the Donatella sauce was. I am not a big proponent of jarred sauces simply because I prefer to make sauces from scratch but if you are pressed for time or don't consider yourself much of a cook, you can't really go wrong with this product. Would I bear standing in line at Whole Foods? Probably not but if you are already there bearing the annoying crowds, it certainly wouldn't hurt to stock up and have a jar in your pantry. Am I becoming a Donatella fan?

This dish came out so well that I invited Thighs (the gal formerly known as RFW) over for dinner last night. A fellow frutti di mare aficionado often quoted for saying "I feel like seafood", I knew she's appreciate my latest culinary splendor.

I served the pasta which we delicately reheated on the stove top with a salad of baby arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. What a great Monday night treat!

A great meal shared with a great friend - is there anything better than that?!?!