Linguine and Seafood Carbonara

I spent a lovely afternoon today with a friend at an indoor playground. We had the whole place to ourselves!! I love having weekdays off!! While the kids were having an absolute blast because they had the whole run of the place, we sipped on coffee and I poured over some cookbooks in search of a dinner recipe for tonight....I already had an idea what I was looking for, I felt like something creamy, seafoody and savory - and there it was, seafood linguine alfredo. Yummmmm!! I had a conversation with another friend a few days ago, and carbonara was discussed, so I decided to modify the alfredo part of the recipe, then I decided to modify the whole thing, wing it, and make up my own recipe from scratch. Here's how it went:

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. all purpose flour
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups hot milk
1 cup grated extra old white cheddar cheese
Black pepper to taste
3/4 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/4 cup tiger shrimp peeled, halved
3/4 cup salmon filet cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup bay scallops
1/2 cup kolbassa sausage cut into 1/4 inch cubes
Linguine (about 4-5 cups cooked)
Parmesan cheese grated















1) Prepare all raw ingredients before starting to cook:


2) Prepare Mornay Sauce (sorry for the lack of photos of the steps in making this sauce, I needed both hands and quick timing is essential to avoid sticking):
Start with a roux - heat milk in microwave until almost scalding. Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a sauce pan, when butter is sizzling add flour, STIR CONSTANTLY, when butter and flour become golden yellow, gradually pour in hot milk (hot milk will create a smooth consistency to the bechamel sauce more readily than cold milk, and cold milk may create lumps), STIR CONSTANTLY until bechamel reaches a thick creamy consistency. Add grated extra old white cheddar cheese (extra old because the sharpness of this cheese results in a much nicer flavor), stir constantly until cheese has melted. Reduce heat to medium, add black pepper.



3) Cook Fish, steam veggies, and par boil pasta

=> Add kolbassa, and fish to the Mornay sauce.
=> Let simmer on medium heat until fish becomes opaque, stir occasionally (approx. 15 minutes)



=> Steam veggies in the microwave until tender (about 2 mins on high depending on microwave strength)

=> While fish is cooking, boil the linguine until almost el dente




4) Assemble the pasta dish and finish cooking
=> Transfer pasta and veggies to a non stick pot




=> Add sauce and simmer over medium-high heat to reduce and thicken to desired consistency, stirring occasionally (water from veggies and fish may thin the sauce)


=> Voila!



5) Serve with fresh grated parmesan and ground pepper



Total prep. time approx. 45 minutes. Enjoy!!! :)