I am so happy to share this recipe for a seafood pasta dish that tastes like it came from a fine dining restaurant. This pasta dish is rich and savory with seafood in every bite (not just in the pieces of shellfish). I made a sauce with clam juice and minced anchovies, which fortified the juices shed by the shellfish. Cooking the seafood in a careful sequence—adding hardier mussels first and then adding the shrimp in the final few minutes of cooking—ensured that every piece was plump and tender. I parboiled the linguine and then finished cooking it directly in the sauce so the noodles soak up flavor while shedding starches that thickened the sauce. Fresh cherry tomatoes, lots of garlic, fresh herbs, and lemon made for a bright, and complex-tasting sauce.
1/4 cup olive oil (I like California Olive Ranch EVOO)
4 garlic cloves, minced
A few shakes of red pepper flakes
.5 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
.5 pounds cherry tomatoes, half of the tomatoes cut in half, remaining tomatoes left whole
3 ounces clam juice (I like Bar Harbor)
1/3 cup white wine
Fesh parsley, rough chopped (about a half cup)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 anchovy fillets, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/4 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound linguine
.5 pounds extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving
Mussels
Heat 1/4 cup oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add mussels, cover, and continue to cook, shaking pan occasionally, until mussels have opened, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer mussels to a bowl, discarding any that haven’t opened, and cover to keep warm; leave any broth in pot.
Sauce
Add whole tomatoes, clam juice, wine, 1/2 chopped parsley, tomato paste, anchovies, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pot and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have started to break down and sauce is reduced by one-third, about 10 minutes. You can help this along by using a pastry cutter to smash the tomatoes towards the end of those 10 minutes.
Linguine
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 2 tablespoons salt and cook, stirring often, for 7 minutes. Reserve a cup of cooking water before draining the pasta.
Shrimp and plate
Add pasta to sauce in the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat, stirring gently, for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in shrimp, cover, and cook for 4 minutes. Stir in lemon zest, halved tomatoes, cream, and remaining parsley; cover and continue to cook until shrimp are just cooked through, about 2 minutes longer. Gently stir in mussels. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand until mussels are warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust consistency with reserved cooking water as needed. Transfer to a large serving dish, drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and serve, passing lemon wedges separately.
What people are saying about this meal
"Hey Mandy! Wanted to let you know I made the Shellfish and Linguine last night...Well done! That's delicious! Looking forward to trying more. Thanks for sharing your passion like this." - Mike