Marina’s Spaghetti with Seafood
A delicious seafood dish which takes minutes to make! This Annabel Karmel pasta recipe combines a seafood ensemble with spaghetti, lemon and fresh basil.
Introduction
Seafood with spaghetti is one of my favourite meals. If you have some Noilly Prat, this adds a great flavour to the dish. If you have never cooked seafood before, don’t worry: it’s really very easy and the good news is it takes only minutes. Not suitable for freezing.
Ingredients
| 500g (1lb) | mussels |
| 250g (9oz) | clams |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 | red onion, sliced |
| 1 | garlic clove, crushed |
| 50ml (2fl oz) | Noilly Prat or white wine (optional) |
| 1 x 400g (14oz) | tin chopped tomatoes |
| 100ml (3½fl oz) | fish stock |
| Tabasco sauce | |
| 1 tsp | sugar |
| 200g (7oz) | spaghetti |
| 250g (9oz) | large fresh prawns, peeled, head removed and deveined |
| 1 tbsp | chopped fresh basil |
| 1 tbsp | fresh lemon juice |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Method
To prepare the mussels and clams: discard any mussels or clams that do not stay closed when gently pressed. Place the mussels and clams in a bowl of salt water for 10 minutes to extract any sand caught in the shells. Only if the mussel or clam shells still feel gritty after the initial soaking do you need to scrub them under a cold running tap using a stiff brush. Use a damp kitchen towel and wipe the shells clean. Remove the beards from the mussels – these are the little fibrous tufts – by cutting them away with a knife or scissors (some cultivated mussels don’t have beards). Place the clams and mussels in a colander and give them a final rinse before using them. If you are not using them straight away, store them in the fridge.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion and garlic for 7–8 minutes until soft. Add the Noilly Prat or wine, if using, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, Tabasco, sugar and salt and black pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Drain.
Add all the seafood and basil to the tomato sauce, stir well, cover with a lid and cook for 3–4 minutes. Then stir in the cooked spaghetti and lemon juice just before serving.
