The good thing about this linguine with mixed seafood dish is that depending on your guests, you can mix and match shellfish to suit their preferences. One word of caution: Make plenty, it always goes quickly.–Rick Stein
*What kind of white wine should I use in linguine with mixed seafood?
Your first instinct might be to pair Italian food with a big, bold red, but you’ll want to use something to emphasize the flavors of shellfish here. Lighter, fruity whites pair better with garlic heavy dishes than red wines do—and this dish is intoxicatingly full of garlic. Sauvignon blanc, Trebbiano, or a crisp pinot blanc all work exceptionally well with a dinner like this, both in the sauce and in your glass.
Linguine with Mixed Seafood
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 pounds prepared mixed shellfish, such as small hard-shell or soft-shell clams, mussels, raw langoustines, and raw small or medium shrimp in shell
- 1/4 cup dry white wine*
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes or small vine-ripened tomatoes
- 1 pound linguine
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the clams and mussels in a large pan with the wine, cover, and cook over a high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until they’ve opened. Discard any that remain closed. Tip everything into a colander placed over a bowl.
- Squeeze the tomatoes to remove most of the seeds and juice and then coarsely chop them.
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water (1 teaspoon salt to each 2 1/2 cups water) to a boil. Add the linguine and bring back to a boil, then cook for about 8 minutes or until al dente.
- Meanwhile, put the olive oil and garlic in a large pan and heat slowly until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add the pepper flakes and tomatoes, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in all but the last 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid from the clams and mussels. Bring back to a boil and simmer until reduced to a sauce-like consistency.
- Stir the langoustines into the sauce and turn them over until they turn pink. Add the shrimp and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes longer, until the langoustines and shrimp are both cooked. Stir in the cooked clams and mussels, along with the chopped parsley, and turn them over a few times until heated through. Season, if necessary, with a little salt and some pepper.
- Drain the pasta well and tip it into a large, warmed serving dish. Pour the seafood sauce over the pasta and toss together well. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I love how easy this linguine with mixed seafood comes together. The sauce is light, not heavy with tomatoes, and is simple to make. It doesn’t look like a lot of sauce when finished, but it does a wonderful job of complementing the other ingredients.
I used mussels, scallops, and shrimp the first time, but any combination works well. The shells from the mussels and clams are easy enough to remove from the dish as you eat, but I’m not a big fan of shelling my shrimp while trying to eat the rest of the pasta. I’d recommend shelling them first, before adding them to the sauce. If you decide against mussels or clams (try to use them, though), this dish does lend itself to many tasty variations. However, without the clam or mussel liquor left from cooking them, add the wine and about another 1/3 to 1/2 cup of clam juice or other seafood stock to your tomato sauce base.
I loved this dish. It’s easy to make and comes together quickly. I’ve made similar recipes but I liked this linguine with mixed seafood because the clams and mussels are cooked, removed, drained, and then added back with most of the liquid but not the grit.
For me this recipe had the right amount of garlic and parsley. I added 1/2 tsp of red pepper (we like the heat). I also like the ability to vary the seafood added to the dish, next time I may also add scallops. This is a very easy weeknight meal but is special enough for an occasion.
What a pleasant surprise! This linguine with mixed seafood dish has a great flavor combination for the shellfish, mingling with the tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. I used some homemade linguine I had stashed in the freezer, but I didn’t have any langoustines, as they’re kind of hard to find out here in the midwest, so I used a few more jumbo shrimp to accommodate the recipe. The olive oil and garlic really standout in this dish, the tomatoes providing more color than much added flavor.
This is a dish that will certainly join the rotation of seafood and pasta in our house. I made a breakfast carbonara the next morning with the leftover pasta (sans seafood as we ate it all the night before) with a few eggs and lots of Parmesan cheese. What a killer way to consume the leftover pasta.
