Seafood is an integral part of southern Italian cuisine, particularly in the Sicily and Campania regions as well as along the coast of Sardinia. Classic dishes such as zuppa di pesce, spaghetti with clam sauce, seafood fra diavola and other seafood pasta dishes are staples in many Italian restaurants in the United States. Serve your seafood over whole wheat pasta for a dish high in protein, low in fat and rich in the right type of carbohydrates.
Step 1
Add a small handful of sea salt to a large stockpot filled with water. Cover and set over high heat. Add the pasta to the pot when the water begins to boil and cook for nine to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Step 2
Heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops when the oil begins to shimmer. Season with salt and pepper and sear for two to three minutes on each side. Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside.
Step 3
Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for one to two minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet and set aside with the scallops.
Step 4
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, garlic, clams and mussels to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, for two minutes. Add the white wine to the pan, cover and cook for three minutes or until the clams and mussels open their shells. Discard any clams and mussels that remain closed.
Step 5
Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, oregano and crushed red pepper to the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and then add the shrimp and scallops. Taste for seasonings, and add salt and pepper as needed. Simmer for five minutes.
Step 6
Add the cooked linguine to the pan, remove from the heat and toss well to coat all of the pasta.
Tips and Warnings
- Make the dish even more special by adding lobster, crab or calamari. For the best-tasting sauce, use only tomatoes grown in the San Marzano region of Italy. Use littleneck clams if cherrystone clams are not available. Never use larger clams, like quahogs, in a seafood pasta.
- Italians have an unspoken rule that cheese is never served on seafood pasta dishes. If you do want to use cheese on this dish, used a mild, aged Pecorino Romano. Store the clams and mussels in the refrigerator in a bowl of ice for no more than two days. Before cooking, discard any with cracked or broken shells.
Things You'll Need
- Sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 lb. linguine or spaghetti
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- 8 sea scallops
- 12 jumbo raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 cherrystone clams, cleaned
- 12 mussels, cleaned and beard removed
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz.
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
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