Pasta of the Seven(ish) Fishes

By Natalia Lepore Hagan of Midnight Pasta

October 26, 2023

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 4 Serving(s)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 anchovy filets, finely chopped, with oil reserved
6 medium-sized shrimp, deveined with shells reserved, chopped into large pieces
3 medium-sized scallops, diced into chunks
½ swordfish filet, diced
3–4 squid bodies (mantle), thinly sliced
8–10 mussels cleaned and debearded
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice or clam stock (or steamed clams and their juice)
¼ lemon
½ bottle dry white wine
1 medium carrot, chopped into large pieces
½ bunch parsley, leaves finely chopped with stems reserved (about ½ cup)
4 Calabrian chili peppers or a teaspoon red chili flakes
1 (24 ounce) box or can of strained tomatoes or passata
4 portions Midnight Pasta Co. fettuccine or spaghetti
Salt and pepper to taste
High-quality extra virgin olive oil (Natalia likes Bellemille)
Optional: Fresh-toasted breadcrumbs, to garnish

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Combine garlic and anchovies together and mince into paste.

Place mussels into a saucepot and add a half a jar of clam juice and about a quarter bottle of wine, or until they’re almost covered in liquid.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and place over medium heat. Check them in about 15 minutes and they should be open and perfectly cooked

Heat a sauté pan to medium heat and add a glug of olive oil, parsley stems, chili flakes, carrots, and shrimp shells to the pan with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Let them sauté until fragrant and add a cup of white wine. Let that reduce for a few minutes and then add a cup of water and continue to reduce by half.

While both stocks are cooking, start your tomato sauce in a deep-sided pot or dutch oven.

Heat to medium and add a glug of olive oil and the garlic-anchovy mixture with the remaining oil from the anchovies; quickly sauté.

Before the garlic burns, add in the tomato purée and season with salt and pepper.

By now your mussels should be done; take them off the heat and remove from liquid.

Strain the liquid to remove any leftover dirt or sand and add liquid to sauce, stirring to incorporate. You can take the mussels out of their shells and lightly chop them now if you'd like to avoid having shells in your finished sauce.

Strain the shrimp stock and incorporate to the sauce; reduce until thickened. Once the sauce is thick and tastes delicious, drop in the squid rings and cook for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

Add the remaining fish to the sauce and stir to incorporate.

They will cook quickly, so at this time drop your frozen pasta into boiling water. Stir to eliminate clumping and cook for about 2 minutes.

Taste your pasta to check doneness and add the pasta straight from the water into your sauce.

Combine the sauce and pasta on medium heat, adding a ladle of pasta water if the sauce is too thick, and sprinkling parsley into the pot as your stir.

Plate your pasta with some mussel shells, chopped parsley, and toasted breadcrumbs, and enjoy!