Easy Seafood Marinara

In this recipe we share how to make our amazing and Easy Seafood Marinara, filled to the brim with an assortment of delicious Seafood. A classic Seafood Marinara is a tomato-based sauce flavored with the classic combination of Garlic, Chili, and Lemon. A splash of White Wine is added to brighten the whole dish up, making it the perfect complimentary sauce to enjoy with Seafood. You can enjoy this dish with any kind of Pasta, but the classic pairing, and one we use in our recipe, is Spaghetti. This is a simple and tasty meal that’s perfect for a midweek dinner

What kind of Seafood goes in Seafood Marinara

One of the best aspects of making this dish is you can really use any kind of Seafood you want. Adding a combination of different Seafoods to the dish is what gives it such a unique and vibrant flavor. One bite could be a slightly chewy and delicious piece of Calamari where the next may be loaded up with Shrimp and Fish

You can really get creative with adding whatever Seafood you like to this dish. For our recipe we opted for quite a classic approach by using Squid (Calamari), Shrimp, and Fish. The Fish was a beautiful combination of Salmon and White Fish, which paired perfectly with the Tomato Sauce. Any firm textured White Fish will work great in our Easy Seafood Marinara recipe. So, the likes of Snapper, Cod, and Sea Bass are all great choices

Avoid the Marinara Mix at the store if you can

Many fish mongers and grocery stores will sell what they refer to as a ‘Marinara Mix’, which is typically a combination of the aforementioned Seafood that’s all mixed together. While purchasing this may be tempting because it’ll be easy to prepare and cook, we recommend against it

Many stores use off-cuts of Seafood and throw it into their Marinara Mix as a way of still being able to still sell it. You’ll likely end up with poorly butchered pieces of Fish, unevenly sized pieces, and even sometimes pieces that are straight up inedible

Instead, we recommend buying whole Seafood pieces and butchering it yourself. This way you’re assured of the quality of ingredients, as well as maintaining equal sized pieces. This is especially important because you can be assured all pieces will be cooked evenly. We recommend a combination of Fish, Shrimp, and Calamari. You can also add Scallops, Mussels, Clams, Crab, and even Lobster if you want to get fancy

How to make our Easy Seafood Marinara

This recipe is so easy to make! In fact, the whole dish can be prepared in under 20 minutes, which makes it the perfect meal to feed a hungry family during the week. Once you’ve got your Seafood all prepared, bring a large pot of water to the boil then add the Spaghetti. Don’t forget to season that water with a load of Salt!

While the Spaghetti is cooking away, cook a finely diced Onion in a large frying pan along with some Olive Oil. After about 5 minutes it’s time to add the flavor! A combination of Garlic, Chili, and Anchovies bring so much flavor to the dish

We go aggressively with the Garlic too. 10 cloves of it to be exact! Now, that may seem like a lot but just trust us on this one. The dish packs a punch of flavor, and the wonderful Garlic pairs perfectly with the other ingredients in the dish

Once the aromatics start to really smell great (about 1 minute in the pan), Add some White Wine and cook it down for a few minutes to burn off the Alcohol. Then, in goes the Canned Tomatoes. Unlike a classic Sunday Sauce, we don’t need to cook the Tomatoes down for hours in our Easy Seafood Marinara. Just simmer it away for about 5 minutes before dumping in the Seafood

Increase the heat so the Seafood cooks (which will take about 3 – 4 minutes) and it’s pretty much done! The final step is to add some Lemon Juice, freshly chopped Parsley, and some more Salt if needed. If the Sauce is too thick, we recommend adding ½ cup of Pasta Water to smooth the whole thing out

Plating

This is a classic, rustic dish, so honestly the best way to plate it is to literally heap a big bowl of it into the center of the table. Then, people can just grab what they want and enjoy! However, if you’ve got some greedy folks at the table, it may be a better choice to plate individual plates. This way you won’t find that for some reason all the Shrimp have ended up on one person’s plate!

I like serving our Easy Seafood Marinara with a few Lemon Wedges. My preference is to add quite a bit of Lemon Juice to the meal, but I understand others may not want that. Therefore, we’ve kept the Lemon Juice quantity at 1 Lemon for the whole dish. Personally, I think you can add a little more, so allowing everyone to add their own additional Lemon Juice is a good way to keep everyone happy

Easy Seafood Marinara Recipe

Ingredients

• 200g / 7 oz. Shrimp
• 200g / 7 oz. Salmon or White Fish (eg: Snapper / Cod), cut into even sized chunks
• 200g / 7 oz. Calamari Rings
• 300g / 10 oz. Dried Spaghetti
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 10 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 2 Red Chilis, finely diced
• 2 Red Anchovies, finely diced
• ½ cup of White Wine
• 400g / 14 oz. Canned Tomatoes
• ½ cup Fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Prepare the Seafood and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add Spaghetti. Cook for 8 – 10 minutes until al-dente and then strain, reserving ½ cup of Pasta Water
2. While the Pasta is cooking, heat the Olive Oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the Onion and ½ tsp. of Salt and cook for 5 minutes until tender, then add the Garlic, Chili, and Anchovies
3. Cook for 1 minute then add White Wine and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the Tomatoes and increase the heat until the sauce begins to Simmer
4. Add the Seafood and ½ cup of Pasta Water. Continue to cook for 3 – 4 minutes until the Seafood has just cooked. Remove from heat and add the Parsley and Lemon Juice. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary
5. Mix in the Spaghetti and serve immediately
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can mix and match whatever Seafood you like. Try adding / replacing some of the Seafood with Mussels, Clams, Scallops, or Lobster
• I recommend serving the dish with additional slices of Lemon Wedges on the side
  
  

Our delicious and Easy Seafood Marinara recipe is packed full of big flavors. That combination of Chili, Garlic, and Lemon Juice paired with fresh Seafood is the perfect combination for a hearty and healthy meal

For more delicious healthy meals such as this one, check out these fantastic recipes:

• Poached Shrimp Baguette Rolls
• Roast Beef Arugula Salad
• Caprese Pasta Salad
• Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad
  
  

Happy Cooking!