Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 14-inch sauté pan or brasier with lid
• •Large pot for pasta (at least 8 quarts)
• •Tongs for handling shellfish
• •Spider or slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Inspect the shellfish

   Discard any clams or mussels that are cracked, broken, or gaping open and do not close when tapped sharply. These are dead. Dead shellfish will make you ill. Rinse the good ones under cold running water. The mussels must have their beards removed: grasp the hairy tuft and pull it firmly toward the hinge of the shell.

   Complete this step no more than an hour before cooking. Shellfish breathe. Cleaned mussels left too long in fresh water will suffocate and spoil.
2. 2

   Start the pasta water

   Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil. Salt it generously. The water should taste like the sea. This is not poetry; it is instruction. Undersalted pasta water produces flat, lifeless pasta.

3. 3

   Build the base

   In a pan wide enough to hold the finished pasta, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic is pale gold and fragrant, about two minutes. Watch it carefully. The moment before the garlic browns, you must act. Browned garlic is bitter garlic, and bitter garlic ruins everything it touches.

4. 4

   Open the clams and mussels

   Raise the heat to high. Add the clams and pour in the wine. Cover the pan. Cook for two minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Add the mussels, cover again, and cook until the shells open, another three to four minutes. As they open, transfer them to a bowl with tongs. Discard any that refuse to open after six minutes of cooking. They are dead and stubborn.

   Work in batches if your pan is small. Crowded shellfish steam poorly and open unevenly.
5. 5

   Add the tomatoes

   Add the crushed tomatoes to the pan with the shellfish liquor. Let this simmer for five minutes. The sauce should reduce slightly and become cohesive. It will smell of the sea and the garden at once.

6. 6

   Cook the squid and shrimp

   Add the squid rings and tentacles to the simmering sauce. Cook for exactly two minutes. Squid requires either two minutes or two hours; anything between produces rubber. Add the shrimp in their shells. Cook until the shrimp are just pink and curled, about three minutes. Remove the pan from heat.

   The shells protect the shrimp from overcooking and add flavor to the sauce. Your guests may peel them at the table. This is correct. Provide napkins and a bowl for shells.
7. 7

   Cook the pasta

   Drop the linguine into the boiling water. Stir immediately to prevent sticking. Cook until the pasta is quite al dente, one to two minutes less than the package suggests. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. Reserve one cup of pasta water before draining.

8. 8

   Marry the pasta and sauce

   Return the sauce to medium heat. Add the drained pasta directly to the pan. Return the clams and mussels to the pan. Toss everything together vigorously for one to two minutes, adding splashes of pasta water as needed to create a sauce that clings to the pasta. The starch in the water helps bind everything together. Add most of the parsley and toss once more.

9. 9

   Serve immediately

   Transfer to warm shallow bowls, distributing the seafood evenly. Scatter the remaining parsley over the top. Drizzle with your best olive oil. Serve at once. There is no waiting. Once the pasta is sauced, invite your guests to put off talking and start eating. This dish does not improve with patience.

Chef Tips

• •Seek clams and mussels from a fishmonger who receives deliveries the same day. Shellfish should smell like the ocean, not like fish. Any ammonia odor means they are past their prime.
• •The pasta water is a tool, not an afterthought. Its starch binds the sauce. Add it gradually while tossing. You want the sauce to cling like silk, not run like water.
• •No Parmigiano. No pecorino. No cheese of any kind. I will say this as many times as necessary. The Neapolitan fisherman's wife who invented this dish would be appalled.
• •If you cannot find good mussels, use all clams. If you cannot find clams, use all mussels. Adapt to what is fresh. The tradition demands flexibility, not rigidity.

Advance Preparation

• •The shellfish can be cleaned and refrigerated up to four hours ahead. Cover with a damp towel, not water.
• •This dish cannot be made ahead. The pasta must be served the moment it is finished. Reheated seafood pasta is an insult to the ingredients and to your guests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)