Seafood Fra Diavolo
Chapter 1 — The Sauces: The Foundational Layer
Brother Devil. Michele Pezza was an eighteenth-century Neapolitan guerrilla fighter, but this magnificent, fiery beast of a dish is pure New York hustle. Born when immigrant ingenuity met an abundance of cheap American shellfish, Fra Diavolo is the unapologetic centerpiece of the Italian-American Sunday table. It is loud, it requires your largest Dutch oven, and the garlic-spiked, chili-laced aroma will perfume your home like a Tuesday night at the best red-sauce joint in Brooklyn. Serve it with tightly foil-wrapped garlic bread and let your guests fight over the last clam.
Before you start
Crush the tomatoes by hand.
Do not buy pre-crushed tomatoes. Squeeze the whole peeled tomatoes between your fingers in a bowl to achieve the irregular, rustic chunks essential for a proper fisherman's style sauce.
Ingredients
- linguine1 lb
- extra virgin olive oil1/2 cup
- large shrimp1 lb
- sea scallops1/2 lb
- littleneck clams12 med
- black mussels12 med
- calamari rings1/2 lb
- garlic6 large cloves
- crushed red pepper flakes2 tsp
- anchovy paste1 tbsp
- tomato paste3 tbsp
- dry white wine1 cup
- San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes28 oz
- dried oregano1 tsp
- fresh flat-leaf parsley1/2 cup
- fresh basil1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Extract the sea.
Heat a quarter cup of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then aggressively fry the reserved shrimp shells until they turn pink and spotty brown, releasing their briny compounds into the fat, before removing and discarding them.
- 02
Sear the sweet meat.
In that perfumed oil, sear the shrimp and scallops for just one minute per side until they develop a little color but remain entirely raw in the middle, then transfer them to a plate.
- 03
Summon the devil.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining quarter cup of olive oil, and sauté the minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and anchovy paste until intensely fragrant, taking care not to scorch the garlic.
- 04
Build the foundational depth.
Stir in the tomato paste and toast it until it darkens to a deep rust color, then deglaze the pot with the white wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom and letting the liquid reduce by half.
- 05
Commence the Sunday simmer.
Add the hand-crushed tomatoes and dried oregano, bring the sauce to a gentle bubble, and let it simmer on the lowest heat for forty-five minutes to establish that slow-cooked restaurant flavor.
- 06
Steam the bivalves.
Bring the sauce up to a vigorous bubble, nestle the scrubbed clams and mussels directly into the red liquid, and cover the pot until they pop open and release their briny liquor into the sauce, which should take about ten minutes.
- 07
Marry the pasta to the sauce.
Meanwhile, boil the linguine in heavily salted water until it is two minutes shy of al dente, drain it while reserving a cup of the starchy pasta water, and toss the noodles vigorously directly in the Dutch oven.
- 08
Reunite the remaining seafood.
Turn off the heat, gently stir in the seared shrimp, scallops, and raw calamari rings so the residual heat poaches them to tender perfection in two minutes, then finish with a heavy shower of parsley and torn basil.
Notes
Wrap the garlic bread in foil.
Do not toast it open face like a diner. Heavily butter the sliced bread, pack it with fresh garlic, and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil before baking so the steam softens the crumb while melting the fat.
Discard stubborn shells.
Any clams or mussels that refuse to open after steaming must be thrown away; do not force them open or you will ruin a masterpiece.
Respect the frozen aisle.
If using a high-quality frozen seafood mix, thaw it completely overnight in the fridge and pat it bone-dry with paper towels before searing, otherwise it will boil in its own water.
From Cook Red Sauce at Home.