Butter Tasting at West Elm and a Recipe Using Shrimp Butter

Have you tried any of the recipes in Flavored Butters yet? Would you like some new ideas for ways to use them? Well, have I got an awesome idea for you right now! Use the Shrimp Butter from the book to make this Spaghetti with Seafood Marinara.

If that sounds good, I’ll have a lot more ideas for you at my upcoming Flavored Butters event at the Portland West Elm on Saturday, March 15 from 12:30PM to 3PM. Come join me for some butter banter and plenty of delicious samples of recipes from the book.

Chalkboard photo courtesy of Jae Obiniana at West Elm.

I just realized—see that platter and those serving utensils with the pasta? They’re from West Elm! And believe it or not, I didn’t even plan it that way! Goes to show how much I love West Elm style. So it’s a real honor to be invited to do a book event there.

While I’m on the subject of honors, I have to take a moment to say I am so honored that Amherst Bulletin included Flavored Butters in this list of cookbooks that “feed the imagination”. Thank you, Amherst Bulletin!

Now, back to that Spaghetti with Seafood Marinara. Sure you could just throw some seafood into some red sauce and call it good, but add a little Shrimp Butter and a good dish is elevated to an amazing dish, to a dish worthy of the best Italian restaurant. The Shrimp Butter boosts the seafood flavor off the charts. So save up some shrimp shells and give it a try!

Spaghetti with Seafood Marinara
Printable Recipe

3 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
1 pound spaghetti
Kosher salt
1/3 pound jumbo shrimp (16/20 count), peeled and deveined
¼ pound bay scallops
¼ pound squid rings
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Shrimp Butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound small clams
¼ pound mussels
Generous pinch red chile flakes
1/8 pound lump Dungeness crabmeat, picked over
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
Grated Parmegiano-Reggiano, for serving, optional

Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer and keep warm. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, season the shrimp, scallops, and squid with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the butter and let melt. Add the shrimp and a quarter of the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, or until almost cooked through. Remove the shrimp to a plate. Add the scallops and another quarter of the garlic to the pot and sauté for about 1 minute, or until almost cooked through. Remove the scallops to the plate with the shrimp. Add the squid and another quarter of the garlic to the pot and sauté for about 30 seconds, or until almost cooked through. Remove the squid to the plate with the shrimp and scallops. Add the clams and mussels and the remaining quarter of the garlic to the pot and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce and red chile flakes and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the clams and mussels begin to open. Return the shrimp, scallops, and squid to the pot and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the seafood is just cooked through. Remove from the heat, stir in the crabmeat and parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drain the pasta when it is al dente. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Arrange on individual plates, top with plenty of Parmegiano, if desired, and serve immediately.

Makes 5 to 6 servings. Seafood must be impeccably fresh, especially mussels and clams. Purchase live mussels and clams the day you intend to cook them. When you bring them home, the shells may be open, especially if they’ve been stored on ice. Tap them gently and see that they close; discard any that do not close. To prepare them, scrub with a stiff-bristled brush and de-beard the mussels. Discard any mussels or clams that do not open once cooked. If desired, add a couple of tablespoons of white wine to the pot along with the clams and mussels.