Fettuccine with Seafood

It's hard to help you without knowing what kind of seafood you plan on using.  Is it fish?  lobster?  clams?  shrimp?  A combo?  What do you have in mind?

Make marinara sauce.  There are quite a few good recipes around.  If you like, you can search "sugo for paisans" here or on my blog site. Add some red pepper flakes.  Be restrained with the chili, you will add more later.

Preheat a pan, add 2 tbs good olive oil and 2 tbs of butter.  When the butter melts,  add some chopped garlic, shallots, fennel (if you can get it), and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or some finely chopped fresh chili of whatever type you like.  Cook briefly until the mixture becomes fragrant. 

Tie together a couple of sprigs of thyme with one of rosemary.  Add them, along with a bay leaf to the aromatics.  Then pour in 1/2 cup good, dry (white), Vermouth (such as Cinzano or Martini).  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.   

Add fresh clams iin their shells; then after four minutes add mussels in their shells, then after four more minutes add largish, raw shrimp -- preferably in their shells and head on.  Cook the shellfish gently until the shells open and the shrimp is opaque. 

When the shellfish are (barely) cooked, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set them aside.  Remove and discard the herbs.  Add some of the marinara to the fish broth, taste and adjust for salt, and chili.  Remember, there is almost always someone eating with you who likes chili less than you -- be considerate. 

Cook the pasta in SALTED water.

While the pasta cooks, return the sauce to the heat so it will be hot when the pasta is done.   There should be enough sauce in the pan to dress the pasta generously but not to drown it.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it thoroughly and add it to the pan of sauce.  Add a goodly amount of fresh chopped parsley, and if you like some basil chiffonade.  Toss the pasta in the sauce.  Return the shellfish to the sauce (reserving a few pieces as garnish), and toss again.  Garnish with a few shells and shrimp, and more parsley.

Pass the chili flakes when you serve, but no cheese.

BDL 

Italian cuisine is my tradition, a holding onto to something in a world in the middle of great changes; and we take this with us wherever we go and that is why Italian regional gastronomy is everywhere ...

Please do note however, that people work, and we only blog on the Community website during our spare time ... and  thus, since you are a Home gourmet verses a Professional Chef, a needed recipe is not a hospital emergency ... And one should consider, organisation, priorities and " human " time tables around the world ...  

Here is our family Brodetto di Ancona ... one can use a bed of Linguini or Spaghetti or as u wish, a Fetticcuini ...

fresh clam stock ( need 1 cup )

4 cloves garlic ( 2 smashed in mortar with pestle and 2 minced )

1 pound fresh mussels debeared or Cherrystone clams or little necks ( USA )

2 tblsps. extra virgin olive oil Italian is best

1 small onion

1/2 pound fresh squid cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch thick rings

1/2 cup dry white wine ( Italian )

1/ 3 cup red wine vinegar ( Italian or Spanish La Rioja if possible )

2 pounds of firm white fish such as halibut or monkfish ( depending on where u live )

1/ 2 pound fresh prawns ( shrimp ) deveined and peeled ( large )

freshly ground blk pepper to taste

salt to taste

fresh oregano minced to taste

parsely minced to taste

the equivalent of plum red tomatoes to 28 ounces ( I only use fresh sostenible tomatoes that are very ripe )

1) In a large pot, bring clam stock and smashed garlic to simmer-

2) add mussels or clams and cook covered until opened 3 to 5 minutes

3) discard garlic and remove shellfish from pot

4) using a fine mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth do strain broth in a large bowl and set aside

and Wipe out pot

5) add 1 tblsp olive oil extra virgin tp the pot and heat over medium heat

6) add onion and minced garlic and cook stirring until softened 5 to 7 minutes

7) increase heat to high and add squid until it turns opaque about 1 minute

8) add wine ( white ) and vinegar; cook stirring occasionally until the liquid has reduced by a half 5 to 7 minutes.

9) add tomatoes and reserved mussel broth. Reduce heat to low and cover and simmer until squid is tender about 18 minutes.

10) now, add all the fish and langoustines or prawns and cook covered until fish is opaque in centre 3 to 5 minutes. With slotted spoon add solids to the bowl and cover to keep warm.

11) stir in parsley and oregano.

12) de-skin and de-seed the plum tomatoes and add to mixture.

13) simmer until sauce thickens to consistency of heavy  cream and adjust seasoning

14) return all seafood to the mixture with the sauce and simmer a few minutes ---

15) add the seasoning once again and taste test sauce

16) boil linguini or whatever pasta ( I use Italian Barilla Brand from Italy ) to boil according to directions and serve the Seafood stew to the pasta.

*** serve with: oven warm Italian baguette, Italian Prosecco Sparkling white wine or Pinot Grigio and fiore sardo ( ewe cured aged Pecorino or /  Parmesano which is made from cow milk and aged ...

Since you have squid and mussels in it, I would make what is called Fra Diavlo, a bit on spicy side but good. You can find recipe on line anywhere.

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewberry 

I plan to use octopus, shrimp, squid and mussels

 

@Margcata, I like your recipe. I guess I'll try it. Thanks a lot.

See?  Good thing you told us because shrimp, squid and mussels can and should all be cooked quickly.  Octopus on the other hand needs a whole other cooking in its self.  So start with that. 

Cut up the octopus into inch sized pieces.  Place in a pot with some chopped onion, garlic, a bay leaf, a can of diced tomatoes (or fresh) and some oregano along with some olive oil (salt pepper and chili flakes too).  No water.  Put the lid on and bring the liquid it releases up to a boil and then reduce down to a simmer.  Leave it there for an hour.  If you like you can cook the squid with it too, squid likes to be cooked for a long time also.  Just keep the lid on.  After it has cooked for an hour bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta.  As that is cooking throw into the octopus pot the shrimp and mussels and throw in a few clams while you're at it.  When the pasta is nearly ready dump it into the sauce and stir.  Stir in some fresh parsley but not cheese.  To loosen the sauce add some of the pasta cooking water.