Cassie’s Ruminations

Seafood Fra Diavolo

This is a great warming meal for a chilly winter night.  We’re getting our first winter storm here in the Great Northwest, and the wind is biting and the rain is cold.  It’ll be turning to snow by tomorrow, and by Sunday our high will only be 29 degrees F.  Brrrrr!

I used Trader Joe’s seafood blend for this, but it works equally well with just shrimp, just scallops, or even chicken if you prefer. It has quite a kick to it, as Shaun and I both like the heat, so if you aren’t used to spicy food, start off with 2-4 cloves of garlic, a dash of black pepper, and only ¼-½ tsp of red pepper flakes.

Seafood Fra Diavolo
Makes about 6 cups of sauce

3 tbsp olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz each (I used one plain and one fire roasted)
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb seafood blend (I used Trader Joe’s, which contains about equal parts shrimp, bay scallops, and calamari rings), defrosted if necessary

1 lb pasta of your choice (I used whole wheat spaghetti here, which made a very nice backdrop for the spicy sauce)

Boil salted water for the pasta. As it is boiling, press 3 of the cloves of garlic into 1½ tbsp of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the garlic is just starting to turn golden and is fragrant, add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a gentle boil then turn the heat down to simmer.

Add the pasta to the water when it reaches a rollicking boil. When it is about half done (check the box for the cooking time for your pasta shape – mine took about 10 minutes total), press the other three cloves of garlic into the remainder of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the garlic is fragrant, add the seafood blend and stir fry until the shrimp are pink and the scallops are just opaque, about 3-4 minutes.

Pour the tomato sauce into the skillet and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for another minute or two.

Drain the pasta and serve!