How to make frozen seafood cocktail

To prepare the pasta, we need pasta itself, frozen seafood cocktail, and sauce ingredients: tomato puree, onion, garlic, hot pepper, favorite spices and seasonings. The type of pasta you choose doesn't affect the result much. This time I used egg noodles, which are incredibly delicious on their own. Now, let's talk about tomatoes: what's better to use for the sauce - tomato paste, tomato puree, fresh tomatoes, or canned tomatoes. I wouldn't say it's the most important moment. Of course, whatever you choose, you will get slightly different taste nuances. I prefer combining tomato puree and fresh tomatoes in the sauce. Notice that it's not tomato paste, but puree. The difference between them lies in the richness: tomato paste contains about 25% tomatoes, while tomato puree contains about 15%. Of course, you can reduce the concentration of tomato paste by diluting it with boiled water, and as a result, get tomato puree. As for onions and garlic, I would never remove garlic from the recipe, but if you don't like onions, you can do without them. And finally, the spices. I really enjoy pasta with a spicy taste. I think it enhances the flavor of the pasta itself and the richness of the sauce. That's why I use chili pepper. If you're not a fan of spicy food, you can use a blend of peppers or regular ground black pepper. For me, the minimal amount of spices creates a sufficient flavor bouquet, so I didn't add anything else that could overshadow the taste and aroma of the seafood.

Since we don't need much time, we will cook the pasta and prepare the sauce simultaneously. Take the frozen seafood cocktail out of the freezer and let it thaw slightly at room temperature. Put a pot with a large amount of water on the stove for the pasta. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and garlic, and sauté them lightly in olive oil until they change color and a persistent garlic aroma appears. Alternatively (which is the correct culinary approach), first sauté the crushed garlic cloves, remove them, and sauté the chopped onion in the garlic-infused oil.

The water in the pot has boiled - add the pasta and cook it in slightly less time than indicated on the package, in lightly salted water. Now, add the seafood cocktail to the skillet, after squeezing out any excess moisture. Usually, I remove the shrimp from the seafood and add them to the sauce later. Sauté everything together for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

It's time to add the chopped fresh tomatoes and tomato puree, as well as the hot pepper, and simmer for a few minutes.

Now for the final touch: add cream and peeled shrimp to the sauce. Everyone in my family loves shrimp (even the cat!), so usually I don't limit myself to the shrimp from the seafood cocktail, but also add separately purchased frozen shrimp. The sauce will be ready in 1 minute!

Meanwhile, cook the pasta, drain it in a colander and rinse it with hot water. Do not add butter! Our sauce has enough fat.

There are different ways to serve pasta: I also grilled (pan-fried in a dry pan greased with olive oil) cherry tomatoes and topped the pasta with seafood with them.

Pasta is delicious! With the seafood cocktail, pasta acquires an exquisite taste. This dish is suitable for a family dinner, a festive table, or a romantic evening (by the way, seafood is well-known aphrodisiacs). Enjoy your meal!