A classic, easy seafood pasta made using a seafood marinara mix: prawns / shrimp, calamari, fish and mussels tossed through a simple, tasty tomato sauce. Made properly, the real proper Italian way, this Seafood Spaghetti Marinara is dinner on the table in 20 minutes!
Seafood Spaghetti Marinara
This recipe is dedicated to Bill and Pauline, the owners of a gorgeous young Golden Retriever called Lucy that Dozer plays with regularly at the beach.
When I say “dedicated”, I don’t mean any kind of heartfelt, deep and meaningful dedication. There is no sentiment behind this dedication.
It is just that I’ve now dictated this recipe to them three times while Dozer and Lucy were playing on the beach, and rather than continuing that weekly routine, I thought I’d just write the recipe out properly for them!!!
While a seafood pasta may sound fancy, in actual fact, this is super fast and easy to make. It really is dinner on the table in 20 minutes, if you can manage boiling the pasta while you make the (very easy) sauce.
I don’t want to show off, but it takes me 15 minutes. Should I do a video to prove it?? 😉
Mind you, I start with a pre-prepared seafood Marinara mix. Nowadays good seafood stores sell great quality marinara (the fish monger in Pittwater Place, for those in my area!), a good mix of small prawns/shrimp, pieces of fish, slices of calamari and shelled mussels. And it’s super great value too.
The key to the sauce for this pasta is searing the seafood first, then removing it before proceeding to make the pasta sauce. This way, the seafood is not overcooked, and also the sauce benefits from the residual flavour left in the pan after searing the seafood.
For the sauce – tomato passata
I like to make this sauce using tomato passata (pictured above) which is simply pureed plain tomatoes. It’s thicker and smooth, unlike canned crushed tomatoes, so it makes a lovely quick sauce. Nowadays, passata is sold in all major supermarkets here in Australia – in the pasta section – and it costs just a little more than canned tomatoes.
Toss the pasta!!
The other important step for this recipe is emulsifying. It sounds fancy, but all it requires is cooking the pasta in the sauce with some pasta cooking water for a minute or two right before serving.
This is a secret step mastered by all the Italian Nonna’s and proper restaurants around the world that makes all the difference. It’s magic because it thickens the sauce so it clings lusciously to every strand of pasta. Rather than a watery pool of sauce in the bottom of the bowl. 🙂
If you want to get technical, it’s because of the reaction that occurs between the starch in the pasta cooking water and the oil in the sauce. 🙂
I made this yesterday (Tuesday) and bumped into Pauline and Bill at the dog park just after I gave the homeless man a big steaming container of this pasta. The homeless man gave this a big thumbs up. Pauline and Bill politely declined my request for a family photo to include in this post. However, I know they’re certainly looking forward to getting their hands on this recipe – written out properly for them!!
– Nagi x
PS To bridge the communication gap: “Marinara” to most of the world other than Australia means a tomato pasta sauce. Not to be confused with “Marinara seafood mix” as sold in Australia, being a premix of different types of seafood in bite size pieces. So to Australians, “Spaghetti Marinara” means a seafood pasta, whereas in other countries, it means spaghetti in a tomato sauce.
In this particular recipe, it’s pasta with seafood in a tomato sauce….so I sort of captured both meanings!!!
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Seafood Spaghetti Marinara
Ingredients
- 6 oz / 180g dried spaghetti pasta (or other long pasta of choice)
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 10 oz / 300g seafood Marinara mix , or make your own (Note 1)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 onion , finely chopped (~1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup white wine (any) (Note 2)
- 2 cups tomato passata/tomato puree (Note 3) OR 600g/20oz canned crushed tomato + 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to packet directions, but reduce the cooking time by 1 minute (because the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce). RESERVE 1 mug of pasta water, then drain the pasta.
- Separate the seafood mix based on cook time. Longest cook time: fish and medium / large prawns, medium cook time: small prawns, shortest cook time: calamari.
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add fish and large prawns first, cook for 30 seconds. Add small prawns, cook for 30 seconds. Add calamari, cook for 1 minute. Immediately transfer everything to a bowl.
- Reduce heat to medium high. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil, then add garlic and onion. Cook for 3 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add wine and bring to simmer, scraping the bottom of the skillet to mix the brown bits into the liquid. Simmer for 1 minute or until alcohol smell has evaporated.
- Add tomato passata, sugar, salt & pepper. Low heat to medium high, bring to simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Add pasta, seafood, around 1/2 cup of reserved pasta cooking water into the sauce. Toss gently and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and coats the pasta.
- Serve, garnished with fresh parsley. (See Note 4 re: parmesan cheese)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer: Being dumped by a wave. Came out of it with his tail still wagging, and went straight back in for more. Currently trying to teach him to body-surf. It is not going well. 🙂
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Hi Nagi, i tried simmering the seafood but it would dry up like you picture. I end up with cooked seafood with pooled of thick juice on the bottom ( with strong fishy smell) . I have tried using both frozen or fresh seafood mix. Separate them as well base on time to cook. They just wont charr n dry..i am left with fish flakes in the tomato sauce as i have definately overcooked it. Help?
Made this last night, wow…so delicious! Great recipe…thank you.
My daughters favourite, she requested this again this for her Birthday. Thankyou again Nagi
Nagi, absolutely gorgeous recipe….. again! Thank you. Hubby has requested we put this on high rotation. We’re blessed with a fantastic fishmonger at our local fresh food market so our marinara mix was full of mainly tuna, large prawns and calamari. A few mussels in there as well and all so yum. I used three large fresh tomatoes from the garden instead of passata and it worked beautifully. Can’t wait to make it again!
Hey Nagi, Do you ever add mussles/clams to this? Excited to try! Thanks x
I haven’t, but they would be great! N x
25 pages of talk for 2 pages of actual recipe? you need to get over yourself and your need for self promotion. Instagram Models have more credibility than you…
Hi Andrew, Given this is MY website and I am the one who spends hours and hours creating recipes, taking photos, filming the videos, editing them, writing it all up then publishing them, it is entirely my prerogative how much I do or do not post in my blog. I take offence at your message, and don’t think it’s appropriate at all! May I remind you – you are using my recipes for free! Perhaps you should go to the bookstore and pay $30 for a cookbook instead? Don’t come back to my website, you’re not welcome here – Nagi
Ignore the trolls… easy to hide behind the interwebs and say mean (and completely false) things. I for one, and I know many others, frequent this site for not only the ridiculously good recipes, but also your complete write-up – which showcases your passion for food AND offers valuable tips that translate to all different types of cooking. Andrew is likely just mad ’cause he burnt his toast this morning and that’s about the extent of his cooking ability. Keep up the amazing work Nagi!
You are the person whose recipes I never feel the need to change it and make my own……I love your recipes and you deserve to be recognized. Forget the trolls they are lonely key board worriers with no life. I think you are fabulous ❤
I wouldn’t typically respond to idiots like you but what an asshole. You’re not obligated to read it and there’s even a button to go straight to the recipe. Keep your stupid ass opinions to yourself. No one needs to hear or read anything you ever have to say.
Nagi, your recipes are a huge hit in my home and I appreciate that most of the recipes use ingredients that get used again. Your commentary with each recipe helps me figure out what to serve with the dish, what substitutes I can use or different methods to make it and I appreciate the time you put into your website, videos, Instagram, and making the recipes adjustable by serving size! Thank you SO much! I’m sorry jerks like Andrew Deguet exist in the world.
Another slam dunk for Nagi! So delicious and easy! Any questions i ever have are always answered in the notes, so thank you for being a great chef AND teacher!
You’re so welcome Sandy, thanks so much for the awesome feedback! N x
Outstanding! Working away from home and got sick of doing the weekly shop and eating the same dinner 7 days in a row. Liked the look of the Marinara mix at Woollies, so I bought a kg then googled “what to do with Marinara”. It lead me to your recipe thankfully👌
This is awesome! Thank you so much for including the calories. I have to watch what I eat, so that helps a ton. I can’t wait to make this!
I recently made your recipe for slow cooked marinara sauce which I used on home made pizza and it was loved by all who ate them would it also be suitable for this marinara thank you Nagi for you recipes
This was simple and so delicious. Will definitely make again. Next time will make my own marinara mix. Thanks for suggesting separating the seafood. Everything was cooked perfectly!
Thanks. Gonna try it. Every question was answered in presentation. You the man.
Best one I have made!! I used prepacked 500g garlic just caught frozen prawns, KB’s raw squid strips squid strips 360g 2x barramundi woolies frozen fish, (from woolies )a jar of Solenatura passata 700g from Costco. Will definitely make again. I used left over macaroni noodles made enough to feed 6.
I love all your recipes, so easy to follow and fast and YUMMY. I have been cooking the chicken chop suey at least once a week.
I use your recipes and mix and match with different recipes.
Really loved this marinara. I separated the seafood mix and it cooked up like a dream. My boys lived it too.
Great recipe…. I’ve done all versions of this so I’ve embellished it by adding butter at the end to give it some shine and richness! Bellissimo!