My first taste of fra diavolo came at one of the countless Italian restaurants while living in New York. I enjoyed it so much that I made a point of ordering it again whenever I found it on a menu, whether there or traveling through St. Louis and Chicago. Before long, the Italian “Brother Devil” had become a welcome friend in culinary terms.
Despite the fiery name, fra diavolo is really about a luscious tomato sauce infused with onion, garlic and red pepper. Its roots are in Southern Italy, where the sauce is commonly served simply, over pasta. The generous addition of seafood is an Italian-American creation, and one that I think makes the dish even better.
Here’s the big secret. It’s not difficult to make, and it comes together in a New York minute. Well…maybe not quite. It takes about an hour, but it’s an hour well spent with the freshest calamari, mussels, scallops and shrimp you can find. The key is to season it with enough red pepper to provide a noticeable, lingering heat without completely overwhelming the palate. That way, you’ll still savor the sweetness of the seafood, the richness of the tomatoes, the fresh herbs, the pasta, and the finishing touch of grated cheese.
Making Seafood Fra Diavolo
First things first. Shop the freshest ingredients at your local seafood market. Use what you like. Add lobster or skip the squid. All scallops? You get the idea. With the exception of squid, which must be braised for 40-45 minutes to avoid that rubbery frozen food texture, the rest of the seafood, like the pasta are par-cooked and finished in the sauce.
Heat the oil in a large pan or pot over medium heat. Cook the onion for 4-5 minutes until it softens and becomes translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more while gently stirring. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, red chili flakes, white wine, oregano and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the parsley and basil.
Place the sliced squid in the sauce to slow braise 45 minutes. Add pasta water and/or a splash of wine as necessary if the sauce becomes too thick. Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil and cook the linguini to pre-al dente, stopping about 2 minutes short of the manufacturer’s instructions.
Meanwhile, season the shrimp and scallops with the seasoning. Sear them in butter and olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute per side. Place the shrimp and scallops into the fra diavolo sauce and stir quickly over low heat. Scoop the pasta from the boiling water and shake to drain over the pot, then add the pasta to the fra diavolo.
Immediately add the mussels to the pot, add pasta water if necessary and cover to trap steam to cook the mussels for 3-5 minutes. This will finish the pasta, shrimp and scallops leaving them tender and succulent.
When the mussels open, they’re done. Discard any mussels that do not open and gently stir to fully coat everything in the fra diavolo sauce.
Serve in a shallow bowl, grate fresh cheese on top and a chunk of warm baguette. Print
Fra Diavolo
Vibrant, spicy tomato sauce with a seafood medley over pasta
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 55
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Diavolo Sauce
- 2 TBL olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion – diced
- 8 cloves garlic – minced
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes – more to taste
- 1 cup Chablis white wine
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 6–7 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 TBL chopped parsley
- 1 tsp salt – more to taste
Fra Diavolo
- 3 cups fra diavolo sauce
- 1 lb linguini
- 1 dz medium size shrimp – peeled
- 1 dz sea scallops
- 3 tubes raw squid- cleaned and sliced into 1/4” rings
- 1 dz live mussels – scrubbed and cleaned
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 pats unsalted butter
- 1 TBL olive oil
- 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese – grated
- 1 fresh baguette – warmed
Instructions
Diavolo Sauce
- Heat the oil in a large pan or pot over medium heat. Cook the onion for 4-5 minutes until it softens and becomes translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more while gently stirring
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, red chili flakes, white wine, oregano and salt to taste
- Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the parsley and basil
Fra Diavolo
- Make the sauce in a large pan or pot and add the squid to slow braise 45 minutes. Add pasta water and/or a splash of wine as necessary if the sauce becomes too thick
- Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil and cook the linguini to pre-al dente, stopping about 2 minutes short of the manufacturer’s instructions
- Meanwhile, season the shrimp and scallops with the seasoning. Sear them in butter and olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute per side
- Place the shrimp and scallops into the fra diavolo sauce over low heat. Scoop the pasta from the boiling water and shake to drain over the pot, then add the pasta to the fra diavolo sauce.
- Immediately add the mussels to the pot, add pasta water to loosen the sauce and create steam. Cover to trap the steam to cook the mussels for 3-5 minutes. This will also finish the shellfish and the pasta.
- When the mussels open, they’re done. Discard any mussels that do not open and gently stir to fully coat everything in the sauce
- Plate in a shallow bowl, grate fresh cheese on top and serve with a chunk of warm baguette