Linguine Frutti di Mare

So every month when Saveur shows up, I hand the magazine to Bill and say "pick one thing you want me to cook out of this." And this month he went straight to the linguini with seafood. Its the kind of dish he's always happy to eat. I cut the amount of oil down to almost nothing, tossed in a couple of clams and a little crushed red pepper. I substituted whole wheat linguine for the white stuff too..

SERVES 2
Kosher salt, to taste
8 oz. dried whole wheat linguine
1⁄8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1⁄2 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
1⁄3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken stock or clam juice, warmed up
8 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
8 littleneck clams, scrubbed
1⁄2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 leaves basil, torn, plus more for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1⁄2 cup grated asiago cheese
4 lemon wedges


1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add linguine; cook until al dente, 8–10 minutes. Drain pasta; reserve 1⁄4 cup pasta water.


2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add green and red peppers, garlic, and onion; cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add wine, stock, mussels and clams; cook, covered, until mussels open, about 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water, tomatoes, butter, and shrimp and cook, stirring, until shrimp are just pink, about 1 minute. Add cooked linguine, toss to combine, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and clings to pasta. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta between bowls. Sprinkle with more basil, asiago, and garnish with lemon wedges.


This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #112
Photo by Andre Baranowsky