Eat Like the Pros: Liquid Fire's Blackened Cajun Seafood Pasta Recipe

Renown TACO Pro Team, Liquid Fire Fishing Team, not only fills their fish box during tournaments and charters, but they also know how to take their catch and turn it into a mouth-watering meal. We are pleased to share with you Liquid Fire's Blackened Cajun Seafood Pasta – a hearty dish for fresh-caught Grouper, Snapper or a similarly textured saltwater fish.

Based out of Cape Carteret, N.C., Captain Mark Henderson and his family’s Liquid Fire Fishing Team have travelled quite a bit over the years competitively fishing in saltwater tournaments. One major family requirement is to always find a great place to eat! This dish reminds the Henderson family of some favorite flavors in a dinner at Crawdaddy’s in Jensen Beach, Fla. called Jambalaya Pasta.

Notes:

• Recipe serves 4, but for hearty eaters, use 1-½ times the recipe.  
• *This dish can be made *gluten free or low carb with a couple substitutions. (See ingredient list.)
• Be sure to have all ingredients prepped (washed/dried/chopped/minced/measured) before starting to cook. No part of the dish needs to sit for long before complete assembly. 
• If you are short on time, multitasking steps are in place. Otherwise, take your time, but know overall time from start to finish will increase.
• Iron skillets are the best choice for blackening seafood. (You may grill seafood if preferred.) The crust from blackening lends flavor and texture to the dish to compliment the creamy sauce and pasta. For quicker cooking time, use two skillets to cook shrimp and fillets simultaneously.
• Use large or jumbo shrimp and thick fish fillets for best blackening results and to not overcook seafood.

Prep Time: approx. 20 minutes

Cook Time: approx. 30 minutes

Cooking Vessels needed: Two skillets (preferable iron skillets), a large pot for the pasta, and a medium-sized pot for the cream sauce.

Cooking Utensils needed: Knife, whisk or spoon, tongs (for shrimp), and metal spatula for fish fillets.

Suggested sides: Garden salad and crusty garlic bread for gathering up any extra sauce on your plate.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4+ Tbsp. Grapeseed oil (or other high heat oil), divided 
• *Cajun seasoning to taste (such as Tony Chachere’s) or make your own for gluten free
• 1 lb. large peeled and deveined shrimp - cleaned, patted dry, brushed with oil, sprinkled on both sides with Cajun Seasoning and set aside
• 1 lb. thick grouper or snapper skinless fillets, or similar textured fish (four 4-oz. pieces), cleaned, patted dry, brushed with oil, sprinkled liberally on both sides with Cajun Seasoning and set aside
• ½ large onion, diced 
• ½ large red bell pepper, diced
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stick of butter, divided
• 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• 1 pint heavy cream
• *8-12 oz. Linguini Pasta (can sub zucchini noodles for gluten free or low carb diets)
• (Optional) Fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish, roughly chopped 

Steps:

1. Melt ½ stick butter in a pot, add onion and pepper and sauté until tender. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds more.
2. Start pasta water, then proceed with next steps until water boils. Then cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Start heating both iron skillets on medium-high heat with about 1-½ Tbsp. oil (enough to liberally coat the skillets) for shrimp and fish fillets.
4. Add heavy cream to pot with sautéed onion, pepper and garlic and let warm over low heat, then add cubes of cream cheese. Whisk until melted, then add pepper jack cheese and whisk until melted. Add Cajun seasoning to taste. Set aside on warmer.  
5. When iron skillets are starting to release a little smoke from oil, add 2 Tbsp. butter and swirl to coat. Add shrimp to one pan and fish fillets to the other. Don’t overcook! As shrimp starts to curl up, flip quickly. When ready, remove shrimp from skillet. It only takes 1-2 minutes per side on medium-high heat depending on the size of your shrimp. Flip fillets when you can see fish becoming opaque about ½ way up the fillets. When done, remove fillets from skillet.
6. Layer on each dinner plate: pasta, sauce, fillet, shrimp, then more sauce and parsley garnish.

We hope you enjoy!

Be sure to comment on this post, share this recipe with your friends and tag us and the Liquid Fire Fishing Team in your dinner photos online!