Doesn't this Seafood Pomodoro look tasty? Good heavens, I am hungry just by looking at it!
Fresh scallops, linguine, tomatoes, fresh herbs, and mussels with a hint of ham for smokiness. This Seafood Pomodoro was delicious and the leftovers were amazing!!!
I am not super big on decadent creamy sauces on my pasta. For the most part, I enjoy cleaner versions and limited ingredients. For this dish, my inspiration was actually a paella, but I didn't want rice. I also wanted chorizo, I absolutely love chorizo, but I decided on ham instead because I wanted the delicate flavors of the seafood to shine through and not be overwhelmed by the chorizo.
Funny enough, we went to my favorite Italian restaurant not long ago, and low and behold there it was. Seafood Pomodoro Arriabatta. Their version included large shrimp, large scallops, and whitefish. No ham or chorizo. We ordered it to compare my Pomodoro to the restaurant's version, and I was not that far off. The main flavors and textures were very similar, and in retrospect, I wish I had added shrimp to mine. Yet, I believe a little ham adds a wonderful smokiness to this dish.
Here is a quick tip. When I went to make this recipe, the seafood department at my grocer did not have fresh mussels available. So I used frozen mussels and they worked great!
I hope you enjoy this Seafood Pomodoro. If you make it, or a variation of it, let me know in the comments section.
Recipe
Seafood Pomodoro
Ingredients
- one tablespoon olive oil
- six garlic cloves roughly chopped
- one large shallot small diced
- half a pound of scallops
- half an ounce of diced ham
- half a pound of mussels
- one can of fire-roasted tomatoes
- half a box of linguine
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- one tablespoon of fresh parsley
- one tablespoon of fresh basil
- one tablespoon unsalted butter
- two tablespoons to one-quarter cup of wine. White wine preferred but red will do.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- You will need one pot to cook the pasta, and a saute pan to start the sauce.
- Start the water to cook the pasta. Once the water begins to bubble, add enough salt to the water to season the pasta. Once pasta is aldente, remove from water and set aside as you cook the sauce.
- On the sauté pan, add heat the olive oil.
- Add sea scallops. If you are using large sea scallops, make sure the scallops are standing on their ends, not on their sides. This assures a nice sear. Allow the scallop to sit on one side until you begin to see a darker, less translucent white line on the searing side. Gently with tongs or a spatula, shimmy the scallop off, and flip to sear the other end. You could do the same with small scallops, but it can get a bit tedious. For smaller baby scallops, I skip this step and start with my onions and garlic.
- If using large scallops, remove scallops and then add small diced shallots and roughly chopped garlic. Cook until shallots are translucent and garlic is golden brown but not burned.
- Add small diced ham and oregano, cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add scallops, tomatoes, and mussels. Let the mixture simmer for about a minute or two.
- Add pasta and half the amounts of the fresh herbs. Let the pasta soak some of the juices.
- To make this sauce a bit richer, add butter. Let melt completely.
- Deglaze the pan with white wine or preferred wine.
- Toss ingredients one more time and remove them from the heat.
- Serve in a pasta bowl with a slice of toasted roasted garlic ciabatta bread and freshly sliced parmesan cheese or asiago, and the remaining half of fresh herbs.
