Spaghetti alla Marinara

Serves 4-6


Ingredients:

12 mussels, beards removed, scrubbed

Tomato sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
425g can tomatoes, crushed
½ cup (125ml) white wine
1 tsp sugar
pinch cayenne pepper

¼ cup (60ml) white wine, extra
¼ cup (60ml) fish stock
1 clove garlic, extra, crushed
30g butter
125g small calamari tubes, sliced
125g boneless white fish fillets, cut into cubes
200g raw medium prawns, shelled and deveined
½ cup (30g) fresh parsley, chopped
200g can clams, drained
375g spaghetti


Method:

1. Soak the cleaned mussels for 2 hours in cold water, then remove and discard any opened or damaged mussels.
2. To make the Tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a medium pan. Add the onion and carrot and stir over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are lightly browned. Add the chilli, garlic, tomatoes, ½ cup white wine, sugar and cayenne pepper and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, heat the extra ¼ cup wine, the stock and extra garlic in a large pan, then add the unopened mussels. Cover the pan and shake it over high heat for around 3-5 minutes. After 3 minutes, start removing any opened mussels and set them aside. After 5 minutes, discard any unopened mussels and reserve the wine mixture.
4. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the calamari rings, fish and prawns; stir-fry for 2 minutes, and then set aside and keep warm. Add the reserved wine mixture, mussels, calamari, fish, prawns, parsley and clams to the tomato sauce and reheat gently just prior to serving time. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water until tender, then drain well in a colander. Gently combine the sauce with the pasta and serve at once.

Note: Delicious tomato sauces are a traditional part of Italian cooking and they are often combined, as in this dish, with other food. Take care not to overcook the seafood as it toughens the longer it is cooked.