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Spicy Seafood Tagliatelle Recipe

Posted July 11, 2017 by Stephanie

Spicy Seafood Tagliatelle Recipe

There’s this hilarious scene in Love Actually (my favorite Christmas movie of all time!) where one of the characters goes to America and impresses women with his British accent. They’re in a bar, asking him to say different words and cooing after each one sounds different. They ask him to say bottle, then giggle and say BOHT-el. Then, they ask him how he says “table” and it comes out sounding exactly the same. “Same,” the girls sigh, “it’s the same.” It’s a cute scene, not only because I like accents, but because Mike and I have been going around saying “same” for the last little while.

Spicy Seafood Tagliatelle Recipe

See, we’re in Montreal, where everything is somewhat the same and somewhat different. They speak French here, a lot, and it’s been a blast seeing familiar stores with French names. All the Starbucks are now Cafe Starbucks and The Hudson’s Bay Company is La Baie D’Hudson. But, there are still a lot of stores that haven’t changed their name and whenever we see one, we laugh and say to each other, “same…it’s the same.”

Montreal has been a blast so far. We’ve checked out some quirky shops, had late night diner food, fresh Montreal-style bagels, and eaten gnocchi in the street. I’m looking forward to eating some poutine, especially the galvaude variety, which is crispy fries topped with chicken, green peas, cheese curds, and gravy. I’m also looking forward to a pasta place that extrudes it’s own fresh pasta.

Spicy Seafood Tagliatelle Recipe

I’m a sucker for pasta, always, either at home, or out. I love how quickly pasta dishes come together and how they can be dressed up or down, according to the occasion. This pasta is a riff off of a dish that Mike and I fell in love with in, many years ago. It was our goto order at our neighborhood diner and one day, I asked the waiter just how they made the sauce. He was really nice, but I think he was holding back a laugh when he told me it was just cream and tomato sauce. I figured it was a bit more than that, did some experimenting at home and came up with this.

It’s creamy and tomato-y, with a hint of heat. The scallops, shrimp, and squid add a touch of fancy but the truth is, this dish could possibly be the easiest seafood pasta you’ll ever make. I used a quick homemade tomato sauce as the base, but if you’re in a pinch, you can use store-bought. Or maybe you have some homemade sauce just hanging out, waiting to be used? Either way, I hope you give this dish a try, either to impress yourself, or maybe a loved one :)

Spicy Seafood Tagliatelle Recipe
serves 2


  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 lb scallops
  • 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
  • 1/4 lb squid, optional
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste
  • 3/4 cups marinara sauce
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 4 oz tagliatelle or pasta of choice
  • salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • chopped flat-leaf parsley, to finish

In a large skillet, heat up the oil and butter over medium to medium-high heat. Sear the scallops, shrimp, and squid, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic and pepper flakes. Cook until soft, but not brown. Add the tomato sauce and cream and season to taste. Return the scallops and shrimp to the pan and simmer gently on low while the pasta is cooking.

Cook the pasta according to the package. Drain and toss with the sauce and seafood. Enjoy immediately with a sprinkling of flat-leaf parsley.

 

14 Comments

  1. Janice Hong says:

    This looks great! I don’t have tomato sauce but I have a little bit of heavy cream left from a cheesecake and some shrimp I froze! Definitely making this this week.

  2. alan smithee says:

    Even better if you add a dash of vodka to the sauce !

  3. Kellie says:

    I’m making this tomorrow! Looks amazing!

  4. sushma says:

    delicious

  5. Caitlin says:

    Looks awesome. Gonna make this tonight.. thankssss

  6. Lyla says:

    By tomato sauce, do you mean something like a regular marinara sauce, or do you mean those weird Hunt’s cans labeled “tomato sauce” (which you’d never use by itself). Thanks so much for helping me out if you can! I can never figure it out :(

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi, i used a homemade tomato sauce that i made from crushed tomatoes, diced onion, garlic, and shredded carrots, so kind of like a marinara sauce! definitely not the hunt’s tomato sauce :)

  7. Valerie says:

    Sounds like a great recipe, but I can’t be sure, as I’m COMPLETELY distracted by your GORGEOUS cast iron pan!!!!!!! I’m a new follower, and if you’re able to divulge where you got it, I’ll follow you FOREVER… HECK, your recipes are GREAT, so truth be told, I’ll follow you either way, but still….!!! MUCH LOVE from Ohioooooooo!!

    1. Stephanie says:

      thanks so much valerie! it’s a finex pan, i love it!
      :)

  8. TB says:

    Won’t lie. I made it and it look really pretty but its pretty bland if you don’t add some more spices to it.

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi tb!
      thanks for the review – it definitely depends on your marinara sauce and how you season to taste. sometimes crushed red peppers can loose their potency :)

  9. Karen says:

    Would I be able to use the frozen bag of seafood that has clams mussels shrimp and octopus in it at the grocery stores

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi karen,
      yes, you absolutely can :)

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