One-dish wonders: Cajun Seafood Conchiglie

Sunday nights are mainly a family affair, with moi at the helm planning and cooking (mostly supervising) dinner. This is the night I'd experiment with new recipes. I'd spend the day browsing through recipe books or www.allrecipes.com for ideas, and make special effort to go to the supermarket to select the ingredients (even though I'd have to sometimes will myself away from an afternoon nap!).

I found a super easy one-dish recipe for a warm homey dinner - Cajun Shrimp Orecchiette - through the allrecipes app, but I've made some changes based on personal preferences. Also, although the original recipe described how spicy the dish would be, my Asian tastebuds didn't quite think so, so I've increased the amount of Cajun spice ;-)  But it really is up to each individual...  

Here are the photo and recipe.

 Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups conchiglie pasta

3 tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup shallots, chopped

1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil   

2 tsp Cajun seasoning (adjust to taste)

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 cup tomato paste

3 tomatoes, diced

12 medium prawns, shelled

1 squid, sliced into rings
1 cup baby spinach

Optional:
1/2 cup dry white wine (exclude vinegar if adding wine)

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until almost al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic, shallots and onion, and saute for about 1-2 mins.
3. Add olive oil, Cajun seasoning and black pepper, and stir for another 2 mins.
4. Add in vinegar (or white wine), tomato paste, tomatoes and seafood. Cook and stir till seafood is almost cooked.
5. Mix in pasta and spinach. Cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes until pasta is al dente.