Tomato sauces are not something I usually go for. Something about them just doesn’t do it for me. I think it’s probably because I totally over did it on spaghetti in college. It was an easy, cheap thing to make so I made it all the time because I could also get a few meals out of one batch.
It’s a rare occasion that I want anything tomato sauce based, but I had a bunch of ingredients to use up this weekend and the best thing to pull together was this spicy tomato sauce. “Fra Diavolo” by the way, means “Brother Devil” – an appropriate name for this given the level of spice in this sauce.
I know I say this about a lot of stuff, but this was SO freaking good. It was so yummy it even earned a spot on my short list of go-to pasta sauces. I just hope I don’t over-do it again like I did in college.
Omit the seafood to be totally vegetarian friendly. Note, the seafood quantities are for one person. Adjust as desired for more servings.
Recipe modified from Saveur.
Ingredients
- ½ lb 16/20 size raw shrimp, peeled and deviened
- ¼ lb fresh scallops, adductor muscles removed
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus 2 tbsp
- 2 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup cognac or brandy
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup vegetable or fish stock
- 1 28 oz can tomatoes, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lb bucatini or linguine
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
Instructions
Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add crushed red pepper, oregano, and garlic to pan; cook until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook until lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Add cognac; cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes, and bay leaf; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, partially covered, until thickened, about 30 minutes.
While pasta is cooking, heat grapeseed oil in a pan. When oil is hot, sear the scallops, cooking about 2 minutes on one side, then turning and cooking for another minute. Heat a pan with olive oil and cook the shrimp until pink, about 5-7 minutes.
Season sauce with salt and pepper and add shrimp and scallops. Add pasta; toss with sauce until everything is mixed and warmed through.
Plate and garnish with the chopped parsley.
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