Abruzzo Seafood Pasta
A delicious seafood pasta dish from Abruzzo's Adriatic coast made with prawns, scampi and calamari in a light tomato sauce.
Equipment
- 2 Large saucepans
- Large frying pan or wide sauté pan
- colander
- Sieve or fine mesh strainer (for the stock)
- Wooden Spoon
- Sharp knife
- Chopping Board
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh long pasta linguine, spaghetti or trenette
- 200 g prawns heads, tails and shells removed and set aside
- 200 g scampi heads, tails and shells removed and set aside
- 200 g calamari cleaned and sliced into rings
- 2 cloves garlic
- 15 cherry tomatoes halved
- 75 ml white wine
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
- Salt
Instructions
- Put the prawn and scampi heads, tails and shells into a saucepan. Cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Strain and set the stock aside.
- Heat a wide pan over a medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the garlic. Fry until the garlic is golden.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, the chopped parsley and white wine at the same time. Stir and cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down into a thick sauce.
- Add a ladleful of the seafood stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce a little.
- Add the calamari, prawns and scampi. Cook until just done, then take off the heat and season with salt.
- Cook the pasta in well-salted boiling water until almost done. Drain and toss straight into the seafood sauce. Add a splash of pasta water if the sauce needs loosening. Scatter over a garnish of parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
- Don't throw away those shells. The stock is what gives this dish its depth - it's the step that makes it taste like it came from a restaurant on the Adriatic coast.
- Don't overcook the seafood. Take it off the heat the moment it's just done -it will continue to cook slightly when you toss it with the pasta.
- Fresh pasta cooks fast - keep a close eye on it. You want it just under al dente before it goes into the sauce.
- Don't add parmesan. Italians never put cheese on seafood pasta.