Bucatini with Seafood

The best part of a seafood sauce (apart from the great taste) is how simple and fast it is to make. This recipe calls for a crisp pinot grigio with floral and fruit notes that work well with the delicate flavours of the clams and scallops and snapper. Whenever you can try and cook with the same wine you’ll serve at dinner so the flavors on the plate mirror the flavors in your glass. Bucatini is a long hollow cylindrical pasta that sort of looks like a straw. Any tube shaped pasta will do in a pinch. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (220 g) fresh mussels
• 1/2 pound (220 g) clams
• 1/2 pound (220 g) large shrimp (10/12 count)
• 1/2 pound (220 g) sea scallops, quartered
• 1/2 pound (220 g) skin-on red snapper fillet (scaled)
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, cut in medium dice
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) red chili flakes
• 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) dry white wine, preferably Pinot Grigio
• 1 cup (250 mL) bottled or canned clam juice
• 1 cup (250 mL) diced red and yellow tomatoes (medium dice)
• 1 cup (250 mL) roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds (670 g) fresh bucatini or 1 pound (450 g) dried bucatini
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) kosher salt, for the pasta water
• Good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, to finish
• 3/4 cup (185 mL) shaved Parmesan, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Directions

1. Make sure that the mussels and clams are all closed tightly; lightly tap on a hard surface the ones that aren’t, and see if it closes. If not, discard. Scrub and debeard the mussels, and scrub the clams. Peel and devein the shrimp; quarter the sea scallops; and remove the pin bones from the snapper, and then cut into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) pieces.
2. Place a very large (16-inch/40 cm) skillet over medium-high heat. (If you don’t have a skillet that size, use 2.) Add the olive oil, and heat for 30 seconds. Add the onions, garlic, and chili flakes, and sauté for 1 minute.
3. Add the clams and mussels, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Then add the scallops and shrimp, and cook until the scallops are golden on one side and shrimp are bright pink. Turn them over. Add the snapper skin side down, and cook for 1 minute. Turn over the snapper and sear the other side until golden.
4. Deglaze with the wine and clam juice. Add the tomatoes and half of the parsley, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the clams and mussels open. If there are some that don’t open, discard them.
5. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the bucatini. Bring a large pot of cold water to a rolling boil over high heat, and add the salt. Add the bucatini and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 3 minutes for fresh pasta. (For dried, the package should offer an approximate time.) Drain well in a colander.
6. Plate the pasta, and place the seafood on top. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and top with the Parmesan and the remaining parsley. Serve with a lemon wedge.