Think of the sauce for Alison Roman’s seafood pasta as a very casual, one-pot bouillabaisse, infinitely riffable and ready in a fraction of the time.
Fat tube pasta, such as paccheri or rigatoni, are great for catching every bit of sauce in this versatile recipe.CreditCreditMichael Graydon & Nikole Herriott for The New York Times
Choosing a favorite pasta is like choosing a favorite outfit: An obviously impossible task, and yet there are those you keep coming back to, riffing on endlessly until you’re sure you’ve exhausted all combinations, then still finding more to love. For me, that pasta is this briny, tomatoey, almost stewlike seafood number. (Please don’t ask me to choose a favorite outfit.)
I always start with a basic, lighter-than-usual tomato sauce, using canned, peeled tomatoes and thick slices of garlic toasted in olive oil. I add a few hunks of mild, firm fleshed fish like cod, halibut or swordfish, to gently poach in the brothy tomatoes, and a few unpeeled shrimp, the flavor of their shells flavoring everything in the pot. (If you prefer shrimp that’s already peeled, that’s O.K.) After everything mingles together for a few minutes, it becomes the sauce dreams are made of, born to coat fat tubes or thin strands of al dente pasta.
The rest depends on my mood and on the type of seafood available to me when the craving strikes, which is … well, often. I’ve made versions featuring fresh squid, cut into bite-size rings and simmered in the sauce; oily sardines seared on the side and served on top; and whole tins of salty anchovies melted into olive oil alongside a healthy pinch of chile flakes.
The beauty of this method of preparing seafood, other than the obvious (there is pasta involved), is that it’s nearly impossible to overcook, dry out or — everyone’s worst fish-based fear — get stuck to the pan. The seafood also subtly flavors the sauce, making it taste far more complex than it ought to considering the number of ingredients you’re using. Think of it as a very casual, one-pot bouillabaisse with half the steps and done in a fraction of the time, and where just about any seafood is welcome.
Cutting the fish into larger pieces helps keep it from falling apart once cooked.CreditMichael Graydon & Nikole Herriott for The New York Times
Toss in a last-minute handful of crushed green olives, a smattering of parsley leaves and a drizzle of nice olive oil, and you’re in business. If you were feeling especially in need of extra carbs (and who isn’t, really), this is the exact dish you’d want to serve with toasted garlic bread on the side. Use it to soak up any extra sauce the rigatoni didn’t get to while you polish off those shrimp, and think about how nice it is to have found your new favorite pasta.
Recipes and columns by Alison Roman
Cooking
Seafood Pasta With Tomato and Crushed Olives
Bringing the Bistro Home
With a Little Wine (and a Lot of Herbs), Clams Turn On the Charm
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