Frutti Di Mare literally means Fruit of the Sea. It’s a delicious Italian pasta dish packed with spicy seafood flavor. Mussels, clams and shrimp swim in peppery Arrabbiata sauce over a bed of linguini noodles. It’s bright, light, fresh, colorful, smells wonderful, and tastes amazing!
Frutti Di Mare Recipe
Frutti Di Mare
Equipment
- large sauce pan – to cook the pasta
- colander – to drain the pasta
- medium sauce pan – to warm up the Arrabbiata sauce
- large skillet with lid
- large perforated spoon
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh mixed clams and mussels – well cleaned
- 1 pound extra large shrimp – deveined
- ¼ cup olive oil – extra virgin
- 4 clove garlic – minced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ cup dry white wine – more for drinking
- 1 lemon – wedged
- ¼ cup fresh basil – roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley – torn
- 1 package spaghetti or linguini
- 4 cups Arrabbiata sauce – premade
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese – freshly grated (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large sauce pan of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Warm up the Arrabbiata sauce in a medium saucepan.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-low flame. Add olive oil, garlic and red pepper, stirring until aromatic. Add the clams and mussels, and toss them in the garlic and oil.
- Pour in the white wine, cover with the lid, and cook for a minute or two until the clams and mussels start to open.
- Stir in the shrimp, cover and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Taste for seasonings, adding salt if needed.
- Pour the warmed Arrabbiata sauce over the seafood, and toss well.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet, and toss to coat in the sauce. Add some of the reserved pasta water if necessary to thin the sauce.
- Transfer to a large serving platter. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle the basil and parsley on top. Optionally add the Parmesan cheese.
- Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
PRIVATE NOTES
Nutrition
More Information
Sauce Variations
Don’t like the spice? Leave out the red pepper flakes and convert your Arrabbiata sauce to a Pomodoro sauce. It would tastes just as good, but without the extra heat.
Seafood Variations
Mussels, scallops, shrimp, prawns, lobster, anchovies, and calamari are all great options. They would taste great together, or in any combination. Frutti Di Mare is a medley of seafood flavors. Use three or more of the seafoods suggested here for best results.
Fresh is Best
Make sure you use good quality seafood. If frozen, it should be flash frozen while fresh, such as IQF shrimp. If any mussels fail to open when cooking, toss them out.
Don’t overcook the seafood
Cook the shrimp just until opaque pink through. The mussels and clams take a couple minutes longer to cook, so start those first. Overcooked seafood is tough and rubbery – especially calamari. Perfectly cooked seafood is delicate and delicious.
Pasta Variations
Any long pasta would do. I like linguini, but angle hair, spaghetti, fettuccini, Tripoline, or Mafalda pasta would all work great. Tripoline is a long ribbon of pasta with ruffles on one side, but straight on the other. Mafalda has ruffles on both sides. Either of these would be excellent choices. They hold the sauce well, and add visual interest and texture to Frutti Di Mare.
Wine to Use
Use a crisp white wine, such as Toscana Bianca, white Burgundy or dry Sauvignon Blanc. You should enjoy drinking it as well as cooking with it. Make sure you have a glass or two while you cook. It will get you into the proper mood for making great food.
Related Recipes
Arrabbiata or Pomodoro Sauce
Tuscan Shrimp
Italian Bread
Tuscan Spice Blend
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