A Better Bag of Groceries

Pasta Fra Diavolo

Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 07:14 AM

One of my favorite summer time recipes is Pasta Fra Diavolo:  sea scallops, litleneck clams, and shrimp all simmering in a spicy tomato sauce and served over pasta.  I often make this dish when my husband’s family visits from out-of-town because it is a great way to offer up the best of New England’s seafood in an easy one-dish meal.  In my town, we are fortunate to have a wonderful fish market that supplies many restaurants.  So I head there to buy my ingredients before I begin to cook.

When you make a meal like this, it is tempting to make it just for the grown-ups in the family and to make something a little more plain for the kids.  But that would be making two dinners.  And I really try to avoid making two dinners.  This is not a restaurant, I tell my kids.  I have to admit that until now, I did not serve my kids Pasta Fra Diavolo for fear of shellfish allergies.  Most pediatricians  advise parents to wait until children are over three to introduce shellfish.  I take the uber-conservative route when it comes to potential allergies, so I waited until my kids were 5 and 7 to feed them clams!

While I could go to the trouble of making the sauce for this dish from scratch, I opt for the easy route during the beautiful summer weather in order to spend more time outside playing and less time in the kitchen cooking.  All you need is an onion, a jar of Fra Diavolo sauce, some seafood, and some pasta.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped (NuVal  score: 93)

2 lbs. littleneck clams (NuVal score: 82)

1/2 lb chopped clams (NuVal score: 82)

1/2 lb sea scallops (NuVal score: 51)

1/2 lb shrimp (NuVal score: 75)

1 jar Fra Diavolo sauce (NuVal scores vary – see below)

1 lb pasta, cooked (I used Dreamfields Linguine with a NuVal score of 87)

Directions:

Oh, it’s soooooo easy.  In a non-stick skillet, heat the onion. 

That, by the way, is my Circulon pan.  I think it is like over 14 years old and it still looks brand new.  Love it!

While you heat the onion until it is almost translucent, have your helper (your husband or child), scrub the littlenecks to remove any sand.

Add scallops and chopped clams to the pan:

When the scallops become opaque, add Fra Diavlo sauce, shrimp and littleneck clams:

Cover, and simmer until the clams open – about 8 – 10 minutes.

Toss with hot cooked pasta in a big, beautiful bowl.  Serve with a crisp green salad. 

The NuVal  scores for Fra Diavolo sauce really vary.  Here’s the highest I could find, the lowest, and one that was in the middle:

• Rao’s Homemade All Natural Arrabbiata Fra Diavolo Hot Sauce:  65
• Sclafani Medium Fra Diavolo Sauce:  38
• Newman’s Own Fra Diavolo Sauce Hot and Spicy:  23

So, how did the kids react?  Overall, they were pretty adventurous eaters.  Out of the different kinds of shellfish, they liked the scallops the best and the clams the least (a little too chewy for their little teeth).  Surprisingly, they did not complain about the spicy sauce.  They loved the fact that they had real live clam shells on their plates.

The best part about this meal?  Leftovers!!  We reheated and got a whole second dinner out of it.  You gotta love just microwaving plates on a hot summer night.

The worst part about this meal?  Forgetting to take the kitchen trash out that night.  Pee-you!!!

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Posted by: Melissa 9 comments

Posted in: Dinner Recipes

Tags: Dreamfield's, Pasta Fra Diavolo, Seafood