Spaghetti with Calamari, Scallops & Shrimp
For me, there’s no better way to dress spaghetti than with a fresh seafood sauce. And this sauce, from the old fishing port of Termoli in Molise, is as simple and delicious as any. In the restaurants by the docks in Termoli (near the old citadel called Tornola), just-caught seafood is served in a brodetto. You eat the seafood, and then the kitchen will toss spaghetti into the sauce you’ve left in your bowl. In my version of spaghetti di Tornola, the calamari, scallops, and shrimp are part of the pasta dressing, but you can eat the brodetto in separate courses, Termoli-style, if you like. In summer, I use my mother’s home-grown, sun-ripened cherry tomatoes to make an exceptional sauce, but in winter, a couple of cups of canned plum tomatoes make a fine substitute.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6
Ingredients
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
Preparation
Step 1
Fill the large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt), and heat to a boil.
Step 2
To prepare the seafood: Cut the calamari bodies, including the tentacles, into 1/2-inch rings. Pull off the side muscle or “foot” from the scallops and discard. Remove the shells, tails, and digestive veins from the shrimp; rinse and pat dry.
Step 3
Pour the olive oil into the skillet, set it over medium-high heat, scatter in the sliced garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to sizzle and color, about 1 to 2 minutes. Dump in the cherry tomatoes, sprinkle on the teaspoon salt and the peperoncino, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring and tossing tomatoes in the pan, until softened and sizzling in their juices but still intact.
Step 4
Start cooking the pasta first and the seafood right after, so they are ready at the same time. Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water, stir, and return the water to a boil.
Step 5
As it cooks, scatter the calamari rings and tentacles in the pan with the tomatoes, and get them sizzling over medium-high heat. Let the pieces cook for a minute or two, then toss in the scallops, and spread them out to heat and start sizzling quickly. After they’ve cooked for a couple of minutes, toss in the shrimp, ladle in a cup of boiling pasta water, stir the seafood and sauce together, bring to a steady simmer, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, just until the shrimp turn pink and begin to curl.
Step 6
As soon as the spaghetti is barely al dente, lift it from the pot, drain briefly, and drop into the skillet. Toss the pasta and the simmering sauce together for a minute or two, until the spaghetti is nicely coated with sauce and perfectly al dente, and the seafood is distributed throughout the pasta. Turn off the heat, sprinkle on the basil and parsley, and drizzle on another 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss well, heap the spaghetti into warm bowls, giving each portion plenty of seafood, and serve immediately.
