About the Recipe
Frutti di mare, which translates to "fruits of the sea" in Italian, refers to a dish typically made with an assortment of seafood such as shrimp, mussels, clams, squid, and sometimes fish, cooked in a flavorful sauce. It's often served over pasta or rice, or as a topping for pizza. The dish highlights the fresh flavors of the sea and is popular in Mediterranean cuisine for its rich taste and variety of textures.
Ingredients
1.5 lb mussels (mixed) cleaned well (see notes)
1.5 lbs cockles (or clams)
1 lb shrimp peeled
4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes + more to taste
2 – 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1/2 c white wine
• sea salt to taste
¾ lb linguini pasta
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley and/or fresh basil leaves
Parmesan cheese, grated
Lemon wedges, to garnish
Preparation
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the linguini according to the package directions until Al Dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the salty pasta water.
Meanwhile heat up your largest skillet on medium low flame.
Add the olive oil, the chopped onion, garlic. Stir quickly making sure not to burn the garlic. Add the red pepper flakes.
Once tender, add the crushed tomatoes. Cook until bubbling, add the white wine and cover with a lid. Cook for a few minutes.
Add in the cockles and mussels and toss them around until open. Remove them and set aside. Discard any that did not open.
Add the shrimp and give it a stir. Cook for another minute or so.
Turn off the gas and add the mussels and cockles back in. Toss well to coat.
Taste for seasonings and add more sea salt if needed (remember that shellfish will spit out a lot of sea water during cooking, so wait till the end to season).
Add the cooked linguini to the skillet with the seafood and toss to coat in the sauce. Add a little bit of the reserved pasta water if needed to stretch out the sauce.
Transfer your seafood spaghetti to a serving platter, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the basil and/or parsley, and shredded cheese.
Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Note: Clean your shellfish thoroughly! I let the mussels and cockles soak in ill a bowl with salted cold water for several hours prior to scrubbing them and removing the beard (latter from the mussels)