Seafood Fra Diavolo
By Matthew FairmanPublished on December 16, 2021
Time
55 minutes
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We prefer shrimp not treated with salt or additives such as sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP). Most frozen E-Z peel shrimp have been treated (the ingredient list should tell you). We recommend buying “dry” scallops, which don't have chemical additives and taste better than “wet.” Dry scallops will look ivory or pinkish; wet scallops are bright white. If you can't find fresh “dry” scallops, you can substitute thawed frozen scallops. If you're spice averse, use a lesser amount of pepper flakes and cherry peppers. Different brands of linguine will cook at different rates and absorb different amounts of liquid; you may not need to add any hot water in step 5, but having some on hand provides insurance against the pasta being too dry.
Instructions
- Toss shrimp and scallops with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt in bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine anchovies, remaining ¼ cup oil, and remaining garlic in large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until garlic is just beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes, breaking up anchovies with wooden spoon.
- Add tomato paste, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste begins to darken, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add mussels and wine and bring to boil. Cover and cook, shaking pot occasionally, until mussels have opened, 3 to 4 minutes (discard any unopened mussels). Using tongs, transfer mussels to bowl and cover to keep warm.
- Add tomatoes and their juice, clam juice, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to pot. Using potato masher, mash tomatoes in pot until coarsely pureed.
- Bring tomato mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Add pasta (it needn't be fully submerged) and cook, stirring often, until strands are flexible but still slightly firm in center, 6 to 10 minutes. (If sauce begins to dry up before pasta is done, add hot water, ½ cup at a time, and continue cooking pasta. Begin checking pasta 2 minutes shy of package instructions; it should be nearly cooked to your liking before adding seafood.)
- Stir in shrimp and scallops and cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is al dente and seafood is opaque, about 3 minutes.
- Off heat, add parsley, cherry peppers and brine, and mussels (along with any accumulated juices) and toss to combine. (Pasta sauce will continue to thicken. Adjust consistency with additional hot water as needed.) Season with salt to taste. Serve, sprinkled with extra pepper flakes and drizzled with extra oil.
Time
55 minutesYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
This ever-popular Italian American restaurant classic consists of an abundant amount of mixed seafood (shrimp, mussels, and scallops in our version) and pasta tossed in a rich, spicy tomato sauce. To make the recipe doable at home, we turned to a method from a one-pot recipe—known as pasta risottata—where all the ingredients cook in the same pot, and the pasta gets just enough flavorful liquid to hydrate and fully soften. Not only did this method simplify cleanup, but it also ensured that every element of the dish was infused with fresh seafood flavor. We started by steaming our mussels in a large Dutch oven with a potent mix of garlic, white wine, tomato paste, and fiery red pepper flakes, and then we removed them from the pot, leaving their flavorful cooking liquid as a base for the sauce. After adding a large can of whole peeled tomatoes and a bottle of clean-tasting, briny clam juice (to enhance the seafood presence in the sauce), we broke up the large tomatoes with a potato masher, brought the liquid to a boil, and added our linguine to cook through and soak up the flavors of the sauce. Once the pasta was nearly cooked through, we tossed in the quick-cooking shrimp and scallops, and after just a few minutes, they were gently cooked through to perfection. To finish, we returned the mussels to the pot to heat through along with a bright, spicy finish of chopped pickled cherry peppers and fresh parsley.
Before You Begin
We prefer shrimp not treated with salt or additives such as sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP). Most frozen E-Z peel shrimp have been treated (the ingredient list should tell you). We recommend buying “dry” scallops, which don't have chemical additives and taste better than “wet.” Dry scallops will look ivory or pinkish; wet scallops are bright white. If you can't find fresh “dry” scallops, you can substitute thawed frozen scallops. If you're spice averse, use a lesser amount of pepper flakes and cherry peppers. Different brands of linguine will cook at different rates and absorb different amounts of liquid; you may not need to add any hot water in step 5, but having some on hand provides insurance against the pasta being too dry.
Instructions
- Toss shrimp and scallops with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt in bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine anchovies, remaining ¼ cup oil, and remaining garlic in large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until garlic is just beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes, breaking up anchovies with wooden spoon.
- Add tomato paste, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste begins to darken, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add mussels and wine and bring to boil. Cover and cook, shaking pot occasionally, until mussels have opened, 3 to 4 minutes (discard any unopened mussels). Using tongs, transfer mussels to bowl and cover to keep warm.
- Add tomatoes and their juice, clam juice, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to pot. Using potato masher, mash tomatoes in pot until coarsely pureed.
- Bring tomato mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Add pasta (it needn't be fully submerged) and cook, stirring often, until strands are flexible but still slightly firm in center, 6 to 10 minutes. (If sauce begins to dry up before pasta is done, add hot water, ½ cup at a time, and continue cooking pasta. Begin checking pasta 2 minutes shy of package instructions; it should be nearly cooked to your liking before adding seafood.)
- Stir in shrimp and scallops and cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is al dente and seafood is opaque, about 3 minutes.
- Off heat, add parsley, cherry peppers and brine, and mussels (along with any accumulated juices) and toss to combine. (Pasta sauce will continue to thicken. Adjust consistency with additional hot water as needed.) Season with salt to taste. Serve, sprinkled with extra pepper flakes and drizzled with extra oil.
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