Mixed Seafood Spaghetti with mussels, prawns/shrimp, calamari rings and scallops with a spicy kick, a fantastic 15-minute recipe that is bursting with amazing flavours. This dish is simplicity in itself, no unnecessary sauces, and it can easily rival any restaurant-style pasta dish.
After having a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant, I instantly fell in love with their seafood spaghetti, and I just had to create a similar dish at home too. It's just too good not to have it again and again. And homemade dishes can be as spectacular as the restaurant ones, with less money spent too.
Seafood is no longer too posh and overly pricy, and affordable options are available in more and more supermarkets. Unless you are lucky enough, like me, to be able to buy locally-sourced, as-fresh-as-it-can-get seafood. Then a plate of delicious seafood and spaghetti is a super easy job.
Cooking seafood can feel a bit daunting at first, but it's actually a lot easier than you think. There are just a few tips and tricks, but the rest is really super easy. For this spaghetti dish I used a combination of mussels, calamary rings, prawns and scallops, but any other seafood can be used.
You can either use a frozen mix, that can either be thawed then cooked, or cooked from frozen, both options are absolutely fine. Just bear in mind that the frozen ones will release more liquid and could take 2-3 minutes longer to cook. But it is safe to cook seafood that is frozen.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
This dish is ready in well under 15 minutes - mixed seafood recipes are that easy!. You can make it as fancy, or as simple as you wish. I did not use white wine, but you can certainly add some too for a nice kick. Although it does taste heavenly without it too.
- cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions - any other kind of pasta would do, although for a more special, romantic-kind of dish, l think spaghetti are preferable
- rinse the mussels in cold water, and pat dry - make sure you only cook the mussels that are completely closed. If they are open, tap them hard on the kitchen counter, if they don't close, it means they are not fresh.
- in a pan, add the oil and butter, and allow the butter to melt
- add the chopped onion and cook until golden, then throw in the garlic, chilli flakes and chopped tomatoes - fresh chillis can be used too. Also, any other variety of tomatoes would do too
- leave to cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy
- add the mussels, prawns, scallops and calamari rings and give them a stir
- place the lid on the pan and cook for 5 minutes until the mussel shells are open and the rest of the seafood are cooked through - discard any mussels that are not open
- serve immediately with plenty of fresh parsley, black pepper and parmesan
Expert tips
As previously mentioned, there isn't much of a difference between cooking the seafood fresh or frozen. You can rinse them with cold water to remove the icy particles and then pat them dry, otherwise they can go straight into the pan.
If you cook mussels only, you can add half a cup of water into the pan to create the steam you need for the mussels to open up. Otherwise, there is no need to, since the other seafood will release their liquid too.
You can add as much garlic and chilli peppers as you like, when it comes to seafood, the more, the better. If you choose to add white wine, do so before you add the tomatoes, and leave it to cook until it all evaporates.
Other than that, enjoy this delicious dish! If you prefer a creamier pasta dish, why not check my Creamy Garlic Scallops with Pasta? It's amazing!
If you’ve tried my SEAFOOD SPAGHETTI or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Seafood Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 200 g spaghetti (7 oz)
- 500 g mixed seafood (mussels, prawns, calamari rings and scallops) - 2 cups
- 25 g butter
- 3 tomatoes (or a cup of cherry tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 onion
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoon grated parmesan
- 3 tablespoon fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.
- Rinse the mussels with cold water, and pat dry.
- In a pan, heat up the oil and add the butter.
- Peel and chop the onion, and add it to the pan, frying it until golden.
- Peel and chop the garlic, and add it to the pan together with the chopped tomatoes ad chilli flakes.
- Leave to cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy.
- Add the mussels, prawns, calamary rings and scallops, give them a stir, then cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook for 5 minutes until the mussels are open, and the other seafood are cooked through.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, mixing it well.
- Serve it immediately with fresh parsley, parmesan and ground black pepper.
Notes
- If you'd like to see the measurements in CUPS and OUNCES, please click on the US CUSTOMARY link.
- The amount of ingredients can be adjusted according to the number of servings you need, please click on the number of servings to change it.
- Any other kind of pasta would do
- make sure you only cook the mussels that are completely closed. If they are open, tap them hard on the kitchen counter, if they don't close, it means they are not fresh.
- If you cook mussels only, you can add half a cup of water into the pan to create the steam you need for the mussels to open up. Otherwise, there is no need to, since the other seafood will release their liquid too.
- You can add as much garlic and chilli peppers as you like, when it comes to seafood, the more, the better.
- If you choose to add white wine, do so before you add the tomatoes, and leave it to cook until it all evaporates.
Margaret says
Hi, the method refers to an onion but there's no onion in the ingredients list. I don't think the recipe needs it and it seems a bit unusual for a fish/seafood sauce. Plenty of flavour comes from the other ingredients.
Karen says
This recipe calls for tomatoes in your directions, but there are no tomatoes listed in your ingredients. What type and how much? This recipe looks Devine and I’d love to make this!
Thank you, Karen
Daniela Apostol says
Hi Karen! Thank you for letting me know, l will edit the ingredient list. You can use 3 large tomatoes or a cup of cherry tomatoes.
Karen says
Ahhhhhh thank you so much!
Karen