Seafood Linguine
This Seafood Linguine is a restaurant-quality pasta recipe made easy right at home using just a single skillet. Inspired by a pasta I had on the Amalfi Coast, it's a classic creamy white wine pasta sauce with no heavy cream added!
Equipment
- Large pot (for boiling pasta)
- Wide sauté pan or shallow Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 12 ounces linguine
- 12 mussels scrubbed and debearded
- 12 small clams such as littlenecks, scrubbed
- 12 ounces large shrimp peeled and deveined (tails on or off)
- 5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for finishing
- 3 to 4 large garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 shallot finely minced
- 1 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste or pinch of crushed red pepper flakes optional, but recommended
- 1¼ cups dry white wine
- 1 to 1½ cups reserved pasta cooking water
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2-3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the clams in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and let the clams sit for 20 to 30 minutes so they can release any sand. Lift the clams out of the water and into a clean bowl, and rinse briefly under cold water. Do not pour the sandy water over them.
- Rinse the mussels under cold water, scrubbing off any debris. Remove the beards by pulling firmly toward the hinge. Discard any mussels or clams that are cracked or that stay open when tapped.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until just shy of al dente according to package directions. Before draining, scoop out 1 to 1½ cups of the starchy pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
- While the pasta cooks, pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- In a wide sauté pan or shallow Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and minced shallot and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, until softened and fragrant but not browned.
- Add the Calabrian chili paste or crushed red pepper, if using, and cook for 20 to 30 seconds to bloom the flavors in the oil.
- Pour in the white wine and let it simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes, until reduced by about half. This helps create a thicker base for the sauce.
- Add the mussels and clams to the reduced wine mixture. Cover the pan and cook over medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes, gently shaking the pan occasionally, until most of the shells have opened. Discard any that stay closed.
- Add the shrimp to the pan, nestling them into the liquid. Cover again and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the shrimp are pink and opaque.
- Add the lemon zest and about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan and gently stir.
- Add the drained linguine to the pan with the seafood. Turn the heat to low and toss gently for 1 to 3 minutes, adding more pasta water a little at a time until the sauce becomes silky, glossy, and clings to the pasta instead of pooling at the bottom of the pan. Add 2 to 3 Tablespoons of butter and toss until melted and fully incorporated.
- Turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and chopped parsley, and toss again. Taste and adjust with more salt and black pepper as needed.
- Divide the pasta and seafood into bowls and serve immediately.
Notes
Storage:
Seafood linguine is best eaten right after it's made for the best texture on the cooked seafood. You can store it for up to 1 day in the fridge and heat it gently on the stovetop until warmed through. Add a splash of water to loosen the sauce if needed.
We don't recommend freezing the pasta as it will change the texture of the seafood as well as the noodles and cause them to be mushy.
Expert Tips:
- With the shrimp tails, you can leave the tails on for a prettier, restaurant-style presentation as well as a bit more flavor. Or if desired, you can remove them before cooking for easier eating.
- Seafood cooks very quickly, so make sure to set a timer and don't overcook. Clams and mussels are done as soon as they open, and the shrimp should be just pink and opaque, or they will become rubbery.
- Reserve the starchy pasta cooking water before draining, and add it slowly as you toss the pasta with the sauce. You want a silky sauce that clings to the linguine, not a watery sauce. If you don't use all the reserved pasta water that's totally ok!
- Wait to adjust the salt until the end. As the wine reduces and the seafood releases its juices, the sauce becomes more concentrated, so it’s easy to over-salt if you season too early.
- If you want to use frozen seafood, just be sure you thaw it overnight in the fridge completely before cooking.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 652kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 27gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 566mgPotassium: 451mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 299IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 87mgIron: 3mg
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