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!
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.
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.
And 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!!!
- 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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Reduce heat to medium high. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil, then add garlic and onion. Cook for 3 minutes until onion is translucent.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Serve, garnished with fresh parsley. (See Note 4 re: parmesan cheese)
1. Seafood Marinara is just a mix of different seafoods including small shrimp/prawns, mussels, slices of calamari and pieces of fish. In Australia, it can be purchased from seafood stores and supermarkets, already made up. It's very good value, cheaper than buying fillets.
However, you can make up your own if you prefer, using whatever seafood you want.
2. The wine can be substituted with chicken broth/stock or (last resort) water.
3. Tomato passata / puree is like a thick tomato juice, it's smooth and has a thick consistency. It is plain pureed tomatoes. Not to be confused with tomato paste or tomato ketchup, or tomato sauce!
It can be purchased in the pasta aisle of supermarkets in Australia and costs around the same as canned tomatoes. Or you can make your own by pureeing any plain canned tomatoes in a blender. Otherwise, use canned crushed tomatoes.
4. Parmesan cheese is traditionally not used to garnish Italian seafood dishes. However, don't let that stop you!
5. Nutrition per serving. A big GENEROUS bowl! Realistically this serves 2 with a bit of leftovers.
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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Thank you for posting this recipe, it looks delicious. The marinara mix I got has mussels and octopus in it, when and how should I add them to the mix?
Hi Liz, octopus will have a medium cook time while the mussels have a short cook time – so cook your larger seafood first, then add in the octopus then muscles last minute. I hope you love it!
A big huge thank you for this recipe! We made it while holiday on the coast in Apollo Bay, Australia with the freshest of seafood. Thanks again!
Glad you enjoyed this Hannah!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
I made this recipe tonight and it went down a great. Being a bit of a foodie, I made my own pasta. I also handpicked what I wanted in my marinara mix (large unpeeled prawns, scallops, cuttle fish, firm red lipped fillet, mussels) and used the heads of the prawn when sautéing the onion and garlic. Removed the heads after cooking down the wine. I more than doubled the recipe and it barely fed 4 pax – everyone went back for seconds. Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try it again.
Wow Chris, hats off to anyone who makes their own pasta! Glad you enjoyed this 🙂
My wife and I loved the food,easy to follow and great taste.
Om the menu now.
iI used this recipe for our 20th anniversary, it was simple to follow and the food according to my wife was delicious, I now have to cook it again for one of our friends.
Excellent recipe loved it.
Ken
Congratulations on your anniversary Ken!! 🙂 N x
Thanks for the recipe, it was great! I especially liked the tips about cooking the fish and seafood in stages. I added mussels but left to last cooking them in the sauce with the pasta and the rest of the marinara. My husband doesn’t like rich tomato sauce so I just used 1/2 cup of organic pasta sauce (Aldi). Adding 1/2 tsp sugar makes all the difference, thank you for that inclusion too. We both loved the meal and it will be a regular dish for us.
Amazing. Im not a seafood fan, so i didnt even try it while cooking, my husband loved it, stuck the recipe and taste was perfect . He is also requesting this as a must have again… apparently once a week would be great haha
Glad you enjoyed it Miranda! Thanks for letting me know! N x
another amazing dish I have tried of yours, first the oven baked meatballs which i have made 3 times now! I have decided that i am only going to look for recipes on your website now they are so tasty!
Mellie xxx
That’s terrific to hear Mellie! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
A fabulous recipe. Very yummy. My beloved also loved it and he requested/pleaded/demanded/begged that we have it again asap, so it’s on the menu again for the second time this week. Thanks!
That’s wonderful to hear Vicki! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Hi, this looks like a beautiful recipe which I can’t wait to try! Just a quick question about the marinara mix, can you use frozen mix and do you need to defrost it first? If yes, what is the best way to defrost it? Thank you 😊
Please defrost! In the fridge overnight is great 🙂 N x
Thank you xxx
I made the recipe as stated with some additions and modifications. Added a couple of chopped anchovy fillets, fresh red chillies and lemon rind, as per suggestions on another food website, to give the flavours a boost and a bit of oomph. Blended a can of diced tomatoes along with a couple of spoonfuls of tomato paste plus the reserved pasta water. I didn’t have white wine so used some cooking sake which I had a bottle of in the pantry; that worked really well. Hubby loved it, went for seconds. Better than the Italian restaurant, he reckoned. This dish will become a staple in the house, I reckon.
Thank you for the review Irene, it’s so terrific to hear you enjoyed this! N xx
Nagi, have I told you I’m addicted to looking through your recipes? And making them. This pasta dish is on the radar. The thing I love about your recipes is that they are almost fault proof. Your descriptions, things we can substitute, or sometimes not, and your translations because as you know we have different names for different things. I’m still trying to think if Passata in America is a basic jar of sauce that has no flavoring? I know we have canned purée of tomato but don’t know if I ever saw a jar of it.
Hi Steven! I’m in NYC at the moment and I have seen Passata at Eataly which is an Italiam Emporium here as well as Wholefoods, and I’m sure I saw it at Walmart in LA. However, I have used your American canned tomato sauce and this will work fantastic with it because that’s basically passata with flavourings 🙂 Just making sure – it is NOT tomato paste 🙂 That will make this way too sour!
Hi Nagi,
Such a long time since posting…
Really enjoyed this as our dinner tonight , I bought egg fettuccine and added some capers – it was delicious
Thank you, as always,
Vanessa and family x
I’m so happy to hear that Vanessa, thanks so much for letting me know! I hope you and your family are well. N xx
Wonderful recipe, better than a lot of restaurant food. Can’t believe I cooked it!
Well, you DID!!!!! Restaurant quality food at home! 👍🏻 N xx
I am making this tonight sounds yum and quick to make
My favourite way with marinara seafood mix!
This was delicious thank you! I can never get enough of pasta. Made this last night and the boyfriend insisted on seconds and polished it all off 🙂
That’s so fantastic to hear! Thanks for letting me know Emma 🙂 N xx
Step 2 is back to front. Add the fish first, then 30 secs later the prawns then 30 secs later the calamari. That way you are not fishing ( pun intentional) around to dig the calamari out of the mix.
Allen – you ROCK! Head smack! Thank you for that 🙂 N xx
Recipe update, including step to separate the marinara mix. Thanks again!
Yes, yes, and yes. That’s is all.
OK, but there is more. I am amassing the easy–to-cook recipes for the mid-week madness and this is definitely going in that folder! Looks luscious and glorious and wholesome, and I love love love a good pasta with seafood in a red sauce. Love. Love love. Can’t wait to make this. Even more, can’t wait to eat this!!!
Oooh! On my list for this week – that collection of recipes for you! I still haven’t decided what to call it!!!
I’m making this one tonight! First meal I will have cooked since Monday night. That was my week.
You should totally call the quick and easy mid-week meals the “Gee Whizz Bang Collection”! Hehehehehehw
BA HA HA!!! I am seriously contemplating it!
This was last night’s dinner. The epitome of fast food. It literally took me 15 minutes to make this delicious mountain of wholesome sweet and tangy pasta with a hint of ocean saltiness. So delicious. So much so, I ate an embarrassingly huge bowl and wanted more. Yum.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGweFwKqyRj/
YESSSSS!!! So glad you enjoyed it Gloria!!! PS I bet I eat more than you…. 😉
This is really easy and so yummy. I subbed 50/50 cider vinegar and veg stock for the wine as we have a toddler. Sounds odd but really works. I used a bag of frozen mixed seafood, defrosted in cold water. I’m sure we’ll make it again, the little one loves seafood.
Gosh no, that doesn’t sound odd at all, that’s really clever! I suggest that for my stir fry sauce! 🙂