Frutti di Mare Pasta (Seafood Spaghetti Recipe)
This frutti di mare pasta brings together clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari in a spicy San Marzano tomato sauce built on white wine and Calabrian chili paste for a deeply flavored coastal Italian seafood pasta ready in 40 minutes. Purge the clams, check every mussel, and watch the calamari closely; these are the three things that take this dish from good to genuinely great.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large sauté pan with lid
- tongs
- wooden spoon
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Colander
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 1 28-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste optional
- 2 ½ tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
For the Seafood
- 16 large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 16 mussels scrubbed and debearded
- 10 littleneck clams scrubbed
- 10 ounces calamari cleaned and sliced into rings
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Pasta
- 1 pound spaghetti or linguine
- Salted water for boiling
- 1 ½ cups reserved pasta water
For Garnish
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano optional
- Fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Get your pasta water going first. Add 2 teaspoons of salt — it should taste like the sea. Cook the spaghetti until just al dente, it finishes in the sauce. Before you drain it, pull out 1½ cups of pasta water and set it aside. You'll need it.1 pound spaghetti, Salted water for boiling, 1 ½ cups reserved pasta water
- In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Watch it closely — garlic burns fast and bitter garlic will ruin the sauce.¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 6 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Pour in the white wine and let it bubble and reduce for 2 minutes. Then add the San Marzano tomatoes, basil, oregano, Calabrian chili paste, salt, and pepper. Drop the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.¾ cup dry white wine, 1 28-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste, 2 ½ tablespoons fresh basil
- Nestle the clams and mussels into the sauce and cover the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes. They're done when the shells open. Any that stay shut get discarded — no exceptions.16 mussels, 10 littleneck clams
- Add the shrimp and calamari, seasoned with salt and pepper. Two to three minutes is all they need. The shrimp should be pink and the calamari just tender. Pull them off the heat the second they're done — calamari goes rubbery fast.16 large shrimp, 10 ounces calamari, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the spaghetti straight into the sauce and toss everything together. Stir in the butter, then add pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce coats every strand. Plate immediately and finish with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon.3 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, Fresh lemon juice
Notes
- Purge the clams before anything else. Place them in cold salted water for at least 20 minutes before cooking. This draws out any sand hiding inside the shell; skip this step and that grit ends up in the sauce and you'll taste it in every single bite.
- Check every mussel. Tap any open ones before cooking; if they don't close, discard them. Check for cracked shells too. Once you know what to look for it takes seconds, and you'll cook mussels with complete confidence every time.
- Add the seafood in stages. Clams and mussels go in first since they take the longest. Shrimp and calamari go in last. This is what keeps everything perfectly cooked rather than tough and overcooked.
- Watch the calamari closely. Two to three minutes maximum; pull it the second it turns opaque. Great calamari has a springy, tender snap to it; overcooked calamari loses that entirely. It happens fast so stay close!
- Storage: Frutti di mare pasta is best eaten the day it's made; the seafood doesn't hold well. If you have leftovers, store in an airtight container for up to 1 day and reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 820kcalCarbohydrates: 93gProtein: 42gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 299mgSodium: 2121mgPotassium: 722mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 901IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 141mgIron: 4mg
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