Fregola ai Frutti di Mare

Fregola ai Frutti di Mare

A classic Sardinian pasta dish, fregola (small toasted semolina pellets) is cooked in a tomato-wine broth with a generous mix of fresh shellfish for a briny, sun-warmed flavor of the Mediterranean.

Prep

25 min

Cook

35 min

Total

60 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •320 g (11¼ oz) fregola sarda, medium-grade toasted Sardinian semolina pasta; see substitution note below
• •60 g (½ cup) semolina rimacinata, for dusting, plus extra if making fregola from scratch
• •60 g (½ cup) durum wheat flour, plus extra for dusting; substitute 00 flour if durum is unavailable
• •80 ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
• •1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• •3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• •1 pinch saffron threads, optional but traditional
• •1 small red chili pepper, crushed, or 1/4 tsp peperoncino flakes
• •200 g (7 oz) ripe cherry tomatoes, halved or crushed San Marzano
• •150 ml (⅔ cup) dry white wine, Sardinian Vermentino if possible
• •700 ml (3 cups) fish stock or light seafood stock, warm
• •300 g (10½ oz) small clams (vongole), scrubbed and soaked in salted water 30 min
• •300 g (10½ oz) mussels (cozze), scrubbed, debearded
• •200 g (7 oz) raw squid, cleaned, bodies sliced into rings
• •200 g (7 oz) raw shrimp, shell on for flavor, peeled if preferred
• •30 g (¼ cup) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• •1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• •1 to taste (to taste) lemon wedges, for serving

Steps

1. 1 If you cannot find good-quality fregola, make it: mound 140 g semolina and 60 g flour, well-mixed, on a board; well-wet your hands and rub the mixture between your palms, letting the coarse crumbs fall back onto the board. Continue adding tiny drops of warm water and rubbing until you have uniform small pellets (about 2-3 mm). Sieve out the fines, dust the pellets with semolina, and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 8-10 minutes until deep golden and nutty. Let cool.
2. 2 Discard any clams or mussels with cracked or already-open shells that don't close when tapped. Soak clams in cold salted water for 30 minutes to purge sand, then rinse well.
3. 3 Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan or shallow pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat for 5-6 minutes until translucent but not browned. Add the garlic, chili, and saffron and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
4. 4 Add the cherry tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes until they begin to break down. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble and reduce by about half, 2-3 minutes.
5. 5 Add the squid rings and the warm fish stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes so the squid starts to tenderize.
6. 6 Stir in the fregola and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, adding a splash more stock or hot water if the pan looks dry; the fregola should be just submerged and absorb the liquid like risotto. The pasta is done when it is tender but still has a slight bite (al dente) and the broth is creamy, not soupy.
7. 7 Meanwhile, in a separate wide pan, heat a splash of olive oil over high heat. Add the clams and mussels, cover, and cook 2-3 minutes until they open. Discard any that remain tightly shut. Remove shellfish with a slotted spoon, leaving the cooking liquid behind. Add the shrimp to the same pan and cook 1-2 minutes per side until just opaque and pink. Pull meat from larger mussel and clam shells; leave a few in the shell for presentation.
8. 8 Stir the opened shellfish, shrimp, and the strained cooking juices into the fregola. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Cook 1 more minute just to heat through - do not overcook the seafood.
9. 9 Off the heat, fold in most of the parsley. Cover and let rest 2 minutes so flavors marry.
10. 10 Serve immediately in shallow bowls, topped with the remaining parsley and a wedge of lemon. Safety note: do not serve any shellfish that did not open during cooking - they must be discarded. Cook shrimp until flesh is opaque and pink throughout; squid is safe when tender, not rubbery.