pasta

I love going out to eat and exploring new delicious dishes and then seeing if I can make them myself at home. It’s usually pretty hit or miss — a long time ago, when I was obsessed with P.F. Changs chicken lettuce wraps, I tried to recreate the appetizer at my college apartment and failed miserably — all we could taste were the crunchy water chestnuts. (I’m hoping to redeem myself by trying again someday.)

One of my absolute favorite dishes is linguine frutti di mare, which is essentially mixed seafood pasta. Linguine tossed with “fruits of the ocean” and loose red sauce — just thinking about it makes my mouth water. I have a hobby of trying the seafood pasta every time Dan and I go to a new Italian restaurant for the first time, and going around comparing. So far, some of my personal favorites have been Luciano’s in Oakton, The Cellar in Blacksburg, Buca di Beppo (various locations in California), and The Milanese Caffe in Berkeley. There were many other good ones, but we try to support unique, non-chain restaurants, so we don’t often dine at the likes of places like Olive Garden (although theirs is not bad, either).

The other evening, I was having a strong craving from more seafood pasta, and decided to try to make it myself. We made a quick run to Berkeley Bowl to gather some ingredients and I produced this delightful dish (while Dan made salad, because that’s what he’s good at). It was très délicieux! Just like the ones at some of the restaurants. I’m so excited that I can now whip this up in the comfort of my own home; I just wish I’d attempted it sooner!

Here’s my recipe:

Linguine Frutti di Mare
(serves 2)

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs linguini
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 cup (8 oz) marinara sauce
1 cup (8 oz) clam juice (sold in cans)
10 oz mussels and/or steamer clams
4 oz squid, cleaned
10-12 medium shrimp

(Note: The mussels, clams, and squid can easily be bought all-in-one if you buy one of those frozen seafood mixes)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan, and add the chopped garlic and sauté until  garlic starts to turn brown.

2. Add the mussels and/or clams and squid and sauté for 2 minutes.

3. Add marinara sauce and clam juice, sauté until mussels and/or clams open.

4. Boil the pasta, drain and toss cooked pasta in with the sauce.

5. Mound pasta with sauce onto plates and place the mussels and clams around the pasta. Garnish with lemon wedges and enjoy!