Seafood With Angle Hair In Wine Pesto Cream Sauce Recipe

Prepare seafood: rinse mussels and discard any open ones that do not close when tapped. Pat prawns, scallops and calamari dry with paper towel.

Season seafood lightly: sprinkle the prawns, scallops and calamari with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Set aside while you start the pasta and sauce.

Sear scallops and prawns: heat a large nonstick or stainless steel skillet over medium‑high heat. Add 1/2 tbsp olive oil. When shimmering, add scallops spaced apart and sear 1.5–2 minutes per side until golden. Remove scallops to a plate and keep warm. Add prawns and sear quickly 1–1.5 minutes per side until just opaque. Remove and keep with scallops.

Cook calamari briefly: in the same skillet add another 1/2 tbsp olive oil if needed and quickly sauté calamari rings 30–45 seconds until they just firm up. Remove and keep with other seafood (avoid overcooking).

Steam mussels: in a separate medium pot add the mussels and 40 ml of white wine. Cover and steam over medium heat 4–6 minutes until shells open. Discard any remaining closed shells. Reserve mussel cooking liquid (strain) and set mussels aside.

Bring the 2 L water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add 1 tbsp coarse salt. Add angel hair and cook according to package (usually 3–4 minutes) until al dente. Reserve 120 ml (about 1/2 cup) pasta cooking water before draining.

When drained, toss the pasta immediately with 1 tsp olive oil to prevent sticking and set aside briefly until sauce is ready.

Sauté aromatics: in a wide sauté pan over medium heat add 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. When butter foams, add the finely chopped shallot and cook 2–3 minutes until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant (do not brown).

Deglaze with wine: pour in 150 ml dry white wine and 100 ml fish or chicken stock. Add the reserved mussel cooking liquid (about 40 ml) if available. Increase heat to medium‑high and simmer 3–4 minutes until reduced by about one third.

Add cream and pesto: reduce heat to medium, stir in 200 ml heavy cream and 3 tbsp pesto. Simmer gently 3–4 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Stir frequently to prevent separation.

Finish sauce: add 30 g grated Parmesan, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional). Taste and adjust seasoning. If sauce is too thick, loosen with reserved pasta water, 1–2 tbsp at a time, up to 120 ml reserved.

Combine seafood into sauce: return seared scallops, prawns, calamari and steamed mussels (in shells or removed) to the pan with the sauce. Warm gently 1–2 minutes to heat through—do not boil. Spoon sauce over seafood to coat.

Toss pasta with sauce: add drained angel hair directly into the pan with the seafood and sauce. Gently toss or use tongs to fold pasta, adding reserved pasta water as needed so sauce coats strands evenly (approx. 2–4 tbsp).

Plate: divide pasta among 4 warm plates, arranging seafood on top and in the pasta. Spoon extra sauce over each portion.

Garnish and serve: sprinkle chopped parsley, lemon zest and drizzle 1 tsp olive oil over each portion. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan and lemon wedges at the table.