Decorative, delicious, and full of flavor, Lobster Fra Diavolo is the type of meal that calls the family to the table from every corner of the house. It’s an exceptional dish; perfect when you’re looking for that special occasion meal or simply want something that is going to bring an extra flare to the table, without a lot of extra work.
Deceptively simple, the final presentation and flavor will have your guests sure that you’ve been dabbling in culinary classes. Passed down to Dre straight from the warmth of his Aunt Giavanna’s kitchen, this recipe carries that special magic of tradition, with that extra ingredient of love flowing through in every bite. So let’s get cooking!
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What Ingredients Will I Need?
The first place you’re going to want to hit in the store is the seafood counter. We always love fresh ingredients, particularly when it comes to seafood. Buying them fresh also gives you the opportunity to find some of those nice, big clams and mussels that really help the presentation on this pop.
OK, so from the seafood counter get a couple of lobster tails, shrimp, some scallops, mussels, and clams. If you can’t find all of these fresh in your market you can go with frozen. Make sure anything you buy frozen is thawed prior to cooking so you’ll cook the center of the meat evenly.
If you haven’t worked with clams before, read up on purchasing and preparing them. You always want to make sure you are working with live clams. This article gives some great tips on selecting and making sure your clams are fresh when you’re cooking. They’re not hard, you just want to make sure you’re dealing with fresh clams.
If the store doesn’t have all of the seafood you’re looking for, or you want to make some substitutions, you can sub in shrimp or forgo one of the shellfish.
OK, we’ve gotten our seafood, let’s get the rest of our ingredients. Canned Crushed Tomatoes, Olive Oil, and White Wine make up the core of the sauce. From the spice section you’ll be looking for crushed red pepper, oregano, parsley, and basil, and cajun spice. We love finding fresh herbs when possible, but dried or crushed will also work.
You’ll want to pick up some fresh shallots and garlic, and will round out your shopping trip with a pack of either linguini or spaghetti. All right, we’ve got what we need, let’s get to work!
Making Lobster Fra Diavolo
First things first, let’s get our seafood going. Clean mussels and clams, clean and devein shrimp, and remove lobster meat from tail. As with clams, you want your mussles fresh. To clean the mussels and clams place them in a colander and run water over them, scrubbing the shells with your hands or a soft brush to remove any debris or dirt that might be on them. Tapping them lightly against the sink should cause them to close up. If they are alive, the mussels will close during this process, because you’re disturbing them. If they don’t, they are most likely no longer living or fresh, so you’ll want to discard them.
Pat dry lobster, shrimp, and scallop meat. Chop the lobster and shrimps into about 1/4 inch pieces. Season lightly with cajun spice and set aside.
Heat a skillet on high. Sear lobster, scallops and shrimp for approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Don’t clean out the pan, as the flavor from the seafood will be wonderful in the sauce!
We love using the Ninja NeverStick Cookware and the 10 1/4 inch skillet is a perfect size for this sauce. The pan cooks evenly with a consistent temperature and holds the flavors incredibly well. In addition it’s very easy to clean. We really love this particular cookware set.
In the same skillet, add 2 tbsp olive oil on medium high heat. Add shallots and cook until soft. This will take about 2-3 minutes and the shallots will glisten and slightly caramelize. Add garlic, crushed peppers, parsley, oregano and basil. Cook about 45 seconds, then add wine and tomatoes. Once mixture boils, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
Add mussels and clams cover and cook until shells open. Add Shrimp, lobster and scallops. Simmer 5-7 minutes until opaque and firm. When the shells open on the mussels and clams this indicates that the seafood is no longer alive and is safe to eat. If the shell does not open it indicates the seafood was not living prior to the cooking process and is not safe to eat, as there will be bacteria in the shell.
Once your sauce is done, scoop your pasta onto your serving plate or bowl, and ladle the sauce on top. Make sure to get a nice mixture of seafood on top, sprinkle with some chopped parsley for garnish, and you are ready to serve!
Why we Love Lobster Fra Diavolo for MS
Loaded with shellfish and based on a tomato sauce, we love the nutrients that are supplied in this dish. Shellfish in general are a lean protein source of multiple nutrients. They have plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids and are rich in vitamin B12, among quite a few other nutrients. We love that vitamin B12 supports nerve function so we are happy to find ways to get it naturally into our diet.
We also love the tomato based sauce in this. On top of all of their other health benefits, Tomatoes are a great source of the antioxidant Lycopene. Lycopene is great for the immune system and also help to fight inflammation, both things that we love for a multiple sclerosis diet, and really just healthy eating in general.
On top of all of that, this dish is so tasty it’s hard to remember how healthy it is.
If you’re looking for some other fun seafood ideas, check out our Lobster Mac and Cheese or Pan Seared Scallops!
Please visit our Resources page if you are interested in finding some of the tools and gadgets Dre uses to make cooking accessible while cooking with MS.
Lobster Fra Diavolo
Description
Decorative, delicious, and full of flavor, Lobster Fra Diavolo is the type of meal that calls the family to the table from every corner of the house. It's an exceptional dish; perfect when you're looking for that special occasion meal or simply want something that is going to bring an extra flare to the table, without a lot of extra work.
Ingredients
Preparation
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Clean mussels and clams. Clean and devein shrimp, and remove lobster meat from tail. Chop lobster and shrimp meat into 1/4 inch pieces. Pat dry lobster, shrimp, and scallops. Season lightly with cajun spice and set aside.
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Heat a skillet on high. Sear lobster, scallops and shrimp for approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
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In the same skillet, add 2 tbsp olive oil on medium high heat. Add shallots and cook until soft (2-3 minutes).
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Add garlic, crushed peppers, parsley, oregano and basil. Cook about 45 seconds, then add wine and tomatoes. Once mixture boils, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
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While the sauce simmers, boil pasta for 9-11 minutes until al dente. When Pasta is finished drain in a colander.
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Add mussels and clams cover and cook until shells open. Add Shrimp, lobster and scallops. Simmer 5-7 minutes until opaque and firm.
When the shells open on the mussels and clams this indicates that the seafood is no longer alive and is safe to eat. If the shell does not open it indicates the seafood was not living prior to the cooking process and is not safe to eat, as there will be bacteria in the shell. -
Scoop your pasta onto your plates or bowls, then ladle the sauce on top, making sure to include a wide variety of the seafood on each plate!
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Garnish with extra parsley and/or basil. Enjoy!
Note
- You can use calamari, clams or crab as substitutes.
- For less spicy recipe, use salt/pepper instead of cajun spice
Sides- Caesar salad, garlic bread
