Seafood Pasta, Memories of Capri

While travelling through Italy with some good friends, we headed south to Naples and then took the ferry to the Island of Capri. While there we tasted some Limoncello and had a memorable lunch of a rich red pasta sauce filled with seafood. Here is my recreation of that meal:

Serves 4:

1 lb. bay scallops

1 lb. mussels

1 lb. large shrimp in the shell

(you can vary your seafood and, if you would like, you can also add a firm white fish cut into chunks)

1 lg. can of peeled tomatoes in puree (I like to use the Cento San Marzano peeled)

1 head of garlic, clean and chop

3 bay leaves

1 c white wine

1 lg. lemon

1 bunch of fresh parsley

8 fresh basil leaves

red pepper flakes

salt

Olive oil

fresh pasta or dried pasta (the amount varies according to the portion size)

Parmesan cheese for passing

3 pans with lids and one deep pot (for pasta)

Start by making the sauce. Heat about 1T olive oil in the pan with about 1T chopped garlic. When you can smell the garlic then add the tomatoes with the puree. As the puree starts to heat, break the tomatoes into chunks. Once this is done, add a bay leaf, stir, then cover and turn off the heat.

Next, start the water for the pasta.

Now get your other pans ready by adding a little olive oil with 1 T of garlic and about 1/2 to 3/4 t of red pepper flakes (optional). Start to heat 1 pan on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mussels with 1 bay leaf and 1/2 c white wine and juice of 1 lemon, cover and let steam). Once finished add all of this, including the liquid to the tomato base.

Start to heat the other pan to medium (already with the garlic and oil) Once hot add the scallops and saute. Once the scallops are starting to brown, add the bay leaf, shrimp and the rest of the white wine. Cover the pan and allow to steam for about 3 minutes. Check the shrimp, once pink turn off the heat and add all of this to the tomato base,

Turn the burner to low and warm the tomato base with all the ingredients now in the pot. Check for seasoning.

When pasta is finished, drain and put into bowls, ladle sauce with the seafood over the pasta.Top with some chopped parsley and basil. Pass the Parmesan at the table. Enjoy!