Friday 25 November 2011

Marrocco´s the Pasta Seafood celebration

Marrocco´s Ice Cream
Situated on Hove Esplanade Marrocco´s is a great Italian ristorante famous for its ice cream, pizza and pasta dishes but mainly for the fresh seafood.  The room has a cosy neapolitan feel and the staff are very warm and welcoming and service even at busy times is very efficient.Having had  the superb ice creams on many a summers day we decided to try lunch and had a great value for money meal.

Marrocco´s Restaurant in Hove
Deep fried calamari for share


As a starter we shared some deep fried calamari which was cooked in delicious crispy batter. This was followed by two seafood pasta dishes, one with half a lobster the other with whole crab. The portions were more than generous and the crustaceans were cooked in a combination of garlic, brandy and white wine in a baby plum tomatoe sauce....delicious! . 

Spaghetti with Lobster
Spaghetti with a whole crab!

This is the perfect setting for an inexpensive lunch or dinner. Definitely one of the best restaurants in Brighton for have pasta with fresh seafood. We will be back to try the sea-food pizza!

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Thursday 24 November 2011

Seafood Pasta Nutritional Values


Dried Pasta Nutritional Values
100g Dried
Pasta
Kcal
Carbohydrates
Protein
Fat
Fibre
Phosphorus
Potassium
362
70
12,3
2,8
3,4
191
164

The part of the wheat that is used for making pasta is rich in starch and gluten allowing a better texture but is very poor in vitamin B .

Seafood Nutritional Values
/ 100g
Kcal
Protein
Fat
Iron
Phosphorus
Potassium
Magnesium
Mussels
67,4
10,8
1,9
4,5
250
320
23
Clams
47,3
10,7
0,5
24
204
43
51
Prawns
95,7
21
1,3
2
300
260
42
Crab
124
19,5
5,1
1,3
160
270
48

Seafood is also are rich in sodium, iodine, chlorine and considerable quantity in calcium.
Mussels are also rich in protein and iron.
Caviar is rich in calories 250 / 100g and 13g of fat but is rich in protein and a very good source of Vitamin A good for recovery our skin and body tissues for injuries.


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Monday 21 November 2011

Five Classic Sea Food Spaghetti Recipes

Spaghetti Vongole.

Spaghetti Vongole with cherry tomatoes
You need: 750g clams (cleaned) – 300g cherry tomatoes (chopped in quarter) – 1 tbsp. dried or fresh chilli (chopped) – 3 garlic cloves (chopped) - 150 ml dry white wine – Chopped parsley for garnish.

1. In a deep pan of salty boiling water cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
2. In another large saucepan heat 5 tbsp. of olive oil in a medium heat and add the garlic, dried chilli and some parsley. Season with salt and pepper,  stir and add the tomatoes, stir again.
3. When the garlic start to be coloured pour in the wine and then the clams. Lid on with a medium high heat; shake the pan a couple of times. After 3-4 minutes all your clams should be open. Down the heat to minimum
4. Drain your pasta (reserving a couple spoon of the pasta water) and add together with the pasta water to the clams pan. Shake and stir everything very well
5. Serve with some scatter parsley. Don’t eat any clams have not open.

Spaghetti with mussels

Spaghetti with mussels

You need: 1kg fresh mussels (cleaned) – 3 garlic cloves (chopped) – 4 tbsp. fresh parsley (chopped) – 80 ml dry white wine – 5 tbsp. olive oil.

1. In a deep pan of salty boiling water cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
2. In another large saucepan heat 5 tbsp. of olive oil in a medium heat and add the garlic and parsley, cook for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the mussels, stir and pour in the wine. Lid on with a medium high heat; shake the pan a couple of times. After 3-4 minutes all your mussels should be open. Down the heat to minimum and discard any mussels that haven’t opened.
4. Drain your pasta and add to the mussels pan, shake and remove from the heat.
5. Let the pasta rest and absorb all the juices for a couple of minutes. Season and serve.

Spaghetti with vodka and caviar

Spaghetti with caviar, vodka and spring onions
You need: 100g caviar – 100ml vodka – 150 ml double cream – 1 garlic clove (chopped) – 3 spring onions (finely chopped) 

1. In a deep pan of salty boiling water cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
2. In another little saucepan heat 5 tbsp. of olive oil in a medium low heat and sauté de onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
3. Add the vodka and cream and cook for another 6 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in 70g caviar. Season with pepper.
5. Drain your pasta, put back in the empty large sauce pan and pour over the spaghetti sauce. Mix very well.
6. Serve with an extra 1tsp of caviar like topping by dish.

Shellfish pasta

Spaghetti with prawns 
You need: 4-5 king prawns or langoustines by serve preferably with shell on - 300g cherry tomatoes (chopped in quarter) – 1 tbsp. dried or fresh chilli (chopped) – 3 garlic cloves (chopped) – 1 onion (chopped no more than 100g) - 150 ml dry white wine – Zest and juice of 1 lemon. Chopped dill for serve.

1. In a deep pan of salty boiling water cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
2. In another large saucepan heat 5 tbsp. of olive oil in a medium heat and add the garlic, chilli and onion and sauté in a medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring time to time.
3. Add the tomatoes and langoustines and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the wine and bring to boil until the prawns or langoustines are cooked (pink coloured). Down the heat to minimum.
5. Drain your pasta and add to the langoustine pan with the lemon zest and juice, shake all very well and season with salt and pepper
6. Serve and scatter over the dill or use parsley instead.


Spaghetti with crab

Spaghetti with with crab meat
You need: 300g cooked meat crab – 1 tsp. dried or fresh chilli (chopped) – 150g fennel bulb (trimmed)) – 1 garlic clove (crushed) – 15/20g parsley leaves (chopped) - 1 lemon juice – 15g butter.

1. In a saucepan heat 4 tbsp. of olive oil with half of the lemon juice and season with salt. Add the garlic and chilli.
2. Add the fennel to a pan of boiling water and after 2 minutes remove from the pan with a small sieve or similar. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. After that mix the fennel with the garlic and chilli. Reserve the fennel water for cook the pasta.
3. When the fennel and oil has cold add the crab meat with 15g of parsley, mix and chill in the fridge for one hour.
4. In a deep pan of salty boiling water cook the pasta according to the packet instructions using the fennel water remaining.
5. Remove from the fridge the crab mix and add the butter.
6. Drain your pasta reserving 3 tbsp. of pasta water. Put back the spaghetti to the empty deep pan, and then add the crab mix using a minimum heat with the reaming water and lemon juice, stir all very well.
7. Serve and scatter over some fresh chopped parsley.

   Mussels and Clams. Mussels and clams should be firmly closed when are fresh. If a mussel is a bit open give him a sharp tap or pinch with a cocktail stick in the flesh. If closed its own, it is alive. If not discard. Also discard any mussels or clams haven’t open after the cooking process.  Clean the mussels under cold running water, cutting off the “beard” with a small sharp knife.


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How to cook spaghetti in 10 tips


Photo by monteregina

1.       Allow 70 g of pasta by serve.
2.       Cook the pasta in deep pan of boiling water with salt (about 1 litters every 100g).
3.       Add the salt 2 minutes before to add the pasta. 2 tbsp of salt every 400g of pasta is enough.
4.       Don’t add olive oil to the water.
5.       Introduce the pasta with a twist to fall evenly in the pan.  
6.       Put the lid on only for the first minute of cooking , so the water wont lose temperature and will fall naturally
7.       Stir slowly from time to time with a wooden spoon (2-3 times in 10 minutes).
8.       If you need to transfer the pasta to another pan to mix with your sauce, remove from the heat 2minutes before that the packet instructions say.
9.       Don’t over drain pasta, immediately mix with the sauce or add some butter or olive oil to the pasta.
10.   Cook until al “dente”". To test this, remove a piece of pasta from the pan and take a bite - it should be cooked but still slightly firm in the centre. 





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