Description
Seafood Fra Diavolo is a vibrant and spicy Italian-American pasta dish featuring bucatini tossed in a zesty tomato sauce loaded with succulent sea scallops, shrimp, littleneck clams, and lump crab meat, enhanced with fragrant herbs, garlic, and a touch of heat from crushed red pepper and pepperoncini peppers. This dish delivers a perfect balance of seafood richness and fiery flavor, great for a special dinner or entertaining guests.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Pasta
- 10 ounces uncooked bucatini
Seafood
- 6 ounces sea scallops
- 6 ounces peeled and deveined extra large shrimp
- 12 littleneck clams
- 6 ounces lump cooked crab meat
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 large shallots, finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 28 ounce can Hunt's whole peeled plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons pepperoncini peppers from the jar, minced, plus 1 tablespoon brine from jar
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves, plus more to garnish
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil, plus more to garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the bucatini according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Sear the seafood: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, high-walled pan over medium-high heat. Season scallops and shrimp with kosher salt and black pepper. Add scallops and shrimp in batches to avoid overcrowding and cook about 2 minutes per side until just cooked through. Remove seafood to a large bowl and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
- Prepare the sauce base: In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir in finely chopped shallots, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, and dried oregano. Sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant and shallots soften, about 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes and wine: Add the hand-crushed canned plum tomatoes to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it cook for 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Then pour in the dry white wine, stirring gently, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Cook the clams: Add the littleneck clams to the sauce, cover the pan with a lid, reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 8 minutes until the clams open. Discard any clams that do not open.
- Combine seafood and herbs: Stir in the lump crab meat, minced pepperoncini peppers and their brine, along with the cooked shrimp and scallops. Then fold in the chopped parsley and sliced basil. Season the sauce with additional salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.
- Toss pasta with sauce and serve: Add the drained bucatini to the pan with the Fra Diavolo sauce and toss thoroughly to coat the pasta evenly. Garnish with extra parsley and basil leaves and serve warm.
Notes
- Use fresh seafood for the best flavor, but frozen can be substituted if thawed properly.
- If you prefer less heat, reduce the amount of crushed red pepper and pepperoncini peppers.
- Dry white wine adds complexity; omit or replace with seafood broth for a non-alcoholic version.
- Make sure to discard any clams that fail to open to avoid food safety issues.
- Serve with crusty bread to soak up the spicy tomato sauce.
- This dish pairs well with a crisp, chilled Italian white wine like Pinot Grigio or Vermentino.
