Jul 14 2026
Restaurants›Mani Osteria and Bar›Spaghetti Fra Diavolo Recipe

Spaghetti Fra Diavolo Recipe

Inspired by Mani Osteria and Bar
Time1h 30m
Serves4

wood-fired maine lobster tail, calamari, mussels, shrimp, garlic toast

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Ingredients

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Pasta

Fra Diavolo Sauce

Seafood

Garlic Toast

Finishing & Garnish

Method

Pasta

  1. 1

    Make the dough

    On a clean work surface, mound the flour and make a large well. Crack eggs into the well, add olive oil and salt. Using a fork, whisk eggs slowly incorporating flour from the inner rim until shaggy dough forms. If too dry, add up to 2 tablespoons water. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

  2. 2

    Rest and roll

    Wrap dough in plastic and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Divide into 2 pieces. Flatten each piece and pass through a pasta machine, progressively thinner settings until desired spaghetti thickness. If rolling by hand, roll to 1.5–2 mm and cut into long strands. Dust with semolina to prevent sticking.

  3. 3

    Cook pasta

    Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Cook fresh pasta 2–3 minutes until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water before draining.

Fra Diavolo Sauce

  1. 4

    Sauté aromatics

    In a wide, deep sauté pan or braiser over medium heat, heat 3 tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter until shimmering. Add diced onion and cook 4–5 minutes until translucent. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook 30–45 seconds until fragrant (don’t brown).

  2. 5

    Deglaze and simmer

    Add 1/4 cup Sherry or white wine and scrape any fond from the pan. Let the alcohol reduce by half (about 1–2 minutes). Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar (if using), sea salt and black pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.

  3. 6

    Reduce and finish

    Simmer sauce gently, partially covered, for 15–20 minutes to concentrate flavors. Stir in chopped basil and parsley during the last 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. Keep sauce warm while preparing seafood.

Seafood

  1. 7

    Prepare lobster

    Preheat a wood-fired grill or broiler to high heat (or a very hot grill pan). Split the lobster tails lengthwise, loosen meat from shell but leave attached at the base, brush meat with 1 tbs olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.

  2. 8

    Cook lobster

    Place lobster tails shell-side down over high heat and cook 6–8 minutes until meat is opaque and just cooked through with a slight char. Remove and keep warm. If using broiler, broil 6–8 inches from heat for about 6–8 minutes, watching closely.

  3. 9

    Cook mussels and shrimp

    While lobster cooks, increase heat under the sauce to medium-high. Add mussels to the simmering sauce, cover and steam 4–5 minutes until mussels open. Remove any unopened mussels. Add shrimp and cook 2–3 minutes until pink and cooked through.

  4. 10

    Add calamari

    Stir in calamari rings and tentacles and cook 1–2 minutes—just until opaque and tender (overcooking makes calamari rubbery). Taste sauce and adjust heat with extra red pepper if desired.

  5. 11

    Combine seafood with sauce

    Nestle cooked lobster pieces into the sauce to warm briefly (1 minute). Spoon sauce and seafood to one side of the pan for plating with pasta.

Garlic Toast

  1. 12

    Prepare garlic butter

    Mix softened butter with grated garlic, chopped parsley and 1/4 tsp salt until homogeneous.

  2. 13

    Toast

    Spread garlic butter on bread slices and toast under a broiler or on a hot grill until golden and crisp, about 1–2 minutes per side. Keep warm and cut on a diagonal for service.

Finishing & Assembly

  1. 14

    Toss pasta with sauce

    Add drained pasta to the pan with sauce (or to a large bowl) along with 2 tbs olive oil and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Toss gently over medium heat for 1 minute to marry pasta and sauce. Add additional reserved water as needed to achieve a silky, clingy sauce.

  2. 15

    Plate

    Divide pasta among 4 warm plates (or serve family-style). Spoon seafood and pan sauce over the pasta, placing lobster tail halves attractively on top. Sprinkle with torn basil and chopped parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil. Serve garlic toast and lemon wedges alongside.

  3. 16

    Serve

    Offer additional crushed red pepper on the side. Ensure mussels served are all opened; discard any that remained closed after cooking. Enjoy immediately.

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