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Unconventional Red Seafood Sauce with Shrimp, Clams, and Mussels

Unconventional Red Seafood Sauce with Shrimp, Clams, and Mussels

Chef's notes

This is among my very favorite recipes.

Base also is a version of my “Delicate Red Shrimp Sauce” with the addition of hard-shell clams and mussels.

As discussed above, seafood sauce must be light, not overcooked to retain taste of fresh tomato. Premium tomatoes without puree imported from San Marino Italy are preferred.

Traditional version, live clams and mussels are opened by simmering in the sauce. This unconventional technique, live clams are shucked, opened over a bowl to capture all juices, and gently finished in the sauce helping to retaining their flavors by not overcooking.

Fresh mussels are replaced with frozen, steamed in garlic sauce. Heated, they make a delicious appetizer. Added to sauce they greatly enhances flavors. They conveniently come in 2 sealed pound packages.

Select a large master pot with room to toss all ingredients.

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Unconventional Red Seafood Sauce with Shrimp, Clams, and Mussels

Ingredients

Slow simmered garlic oil

4 large garlic cloves
1 cup olive oil
Kosher salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Remaining Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of large shrimp, 21 to 30 per pound, preferably with shells
3-28oz cans of crushed tomatoes without puree from San Marino Italy
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 or 4 5-inch stalks of fresh basil.
Salt, black pepper and additional red pepper flakes as needed
Bottled clam juice
32 live littleneck or cherrystone clams
1-pound large frozen mussels garlic sauce discussed above
1 ½ to 2 pounds of linguini or your favorite pasta

Instructions

Garlic oil…Well ahead remove course tips from garlic and slice each in half lengthwise. Retain skin. Place in a narrow butter melting style pot with 1 cup olive oil, pinches of Kosher salt and red pepper flakes. Place over medium heat. As the oil starts to simmer, reduce heat to lowest. Garlic and oil are ready when skins are released, garlic is tanned, softened, and sweet, a couple of hours. Remove skins and set pot aside.
Clean shrimp reserving shells. Sautee shells with some of the garlic oil for about 5 minutes. Remove skins with a slotted spoon reserving as much of the liquid as you can. Discard shells.
Quick toss shrimp with medium heat until lightly pink outside, still slightly translucent inside. Refrigerate until added to sauce.
Add the remainder of Peter's infused garlic and oil, canned tomatoes, red pepper flakes, basil stocks, and about a cup of clam juice. Simmer with cover ajar for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more bottled clam juice (or water) as needed.
While Sause is simmering, scrub clams. Open clams over a bowl to reserve their fresh juice. SEE DISCUSSION BELOW ABOUT SHUCKING CLAMS *.
Sauce will be ready to finish in about 2 hours.
When near ready for dinner, place pasta in briskly boiling salted water. Remove basil from sauce.
Defrost sealed mussels in microwave for a few minutes. Slit bag and add mussels to sauce.
Add clams in shells. Strain clam juice also add. Toss in shrimp.
Strain pasta when al dente.
Place pasta into a large serving bowl. Generously fold with seafood. Have additional seafood available for guests.

*Shucking clams: search the internet for safe instructions for shucking clams. Make sure you use a safety glove or folded kitchen cloth on the palm of hand holding the clam. Spring clams open but do not remove shells.

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