This quick and easy seafood linguine pasta dish is perfect for dinner in a hurry. A tender mix of prawns, mussels and squid are cooked with garlic, chilli and sweet tomatoes for a zingy sauce to coat the long ribbons of pasta.
My personal favourite is to add some octopus pieces to the mix, especially the Galician style ‘Pulpo a la Gallega‘. It is expensive but well worth it for a bit of luxury.
Getting the right octopus in the UK, by that I mean the double sucker type, can be difficult. Not widely available compared to our native variety it can be bought from specialist retailers like Brindisa.
The name Linguine means “little tongues” in Italian. Whereas spaghetti is string-like and round, linguine is flat strips. Traditionally, spaghetti accompanies meat and thicker sauces. Linguine is better with fish or pesto and thinner sauces.
For best results use good quality dried pasta like De Cecco or Barilla made of 100% Durum wheat. Beware of some cheaper brands which mix cheaper imported soft wheat with the Durum. Having a lower protein content, pasta made this way goes soft and gooey rather than staying al dente. Under Italian law, pasta must be 100% Durum wheat, with a protein content of over 10.5%. Manufacturers export lower quality, cheaper pasta to less discerning countries like here in the UK.
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Seafood Linguine
Ingredients
For the linguine:
- 200 g linguine or spaghetti
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 Garlic thinly sliced
- ½ red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
- 200 ml dry white wine
- 220 g cherry tomatoes halved
- 200 g seafood selection
- 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped, to serve
- 1 lemon cut into wedges, to serve
For the octopus (optional):
- 1 octopus cooked and cut into pieces
Instructions
For the linguine:
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to pack instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 30 secs-1 min until just turning golden. Pour in the wine, then leave to bubble until reduced by half.
- Stir the tomatoes into the pan and cook for 1-2 mins to soften. Add the seafood mix, octopus if using, and continue to cook for 1-2 mins or until fully heated through.
- Drain the cooked pasta, reserving about a cupful of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the empty pan and tip in the seafood and tomato mixture. Add a little of the pasta cooking water to loosen, then toss together until everything is well mixed, adding more water as needed.
- Divide between serving dishes and sprinkle over the chopped parsley. Serve with a lemon wedge to squeeze over.
Notes
Try one of my other featured seafood recipes using mussels and octopus if you like the seafood linguine.
