Ultimate Fried Seafood Pasta

Do you want to go to the seaside?

Done in 1 hour

Serves 4

Dish by Hugh Woodward

Ingredients

Fritto Misto

100g Cornflour

100g Plain white flour

1 tsp Baking powder

400ml Soda water

300g Shell on large prawns

2Small squid, gutted, skinned and cut into rings

1 tsp Sea salt

Lemon to serve

Pasta

3Fat garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2Anchovies, diced

1 tsp Red pepper flakes

200ml White wine

200ml Prawn head stock

300g Uncooked cleaned mussels

300g Uncooked clams

A large bunchParsley, finely chopped

400g Cooked linguine

This is a deep affectionate nod to the Italian beach in all its bronzed, sun-lounger flecked glory. It's a hybrid between a clam heavy vongole and a deep fried frito misto. It works though, in the same way that tempura works so well with a bowl of udon. So, if you're searching for the ultimate seafood pasta recipe, you've found it.

Method

Begin by shelling the prawns. Keep the heads and shells and place them in a medium saucepan with around 400ml of water along with parsley stalks and half an onion.

Next, thoroughly whisk together the two flours along with the baking powder. Briefly whisk in the soda water - don't worry if you have some lumps of flour left, and don't over whisk.

While this is happening heat up a sturdy saucepan roughly half full of sunflower oil to 170°C.

Dip the prawns and squid pieces into the batter and shake off excess. It should be the consistency of pancake batter.

Carefully place your seafood into your hot oil and fry until lightly golden and crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon and season.

To make the pasta sauce, fry the garlic along with the anchovies and chilli flakes until the garlic smells aromatic. Add the white wine and prawn head stock then reduce until thick and bubbling.

At this point make sure you have a lid or something to cover the pan to hand, then add the mussels and clams. Place the lid on top and steam until the shells have opened - if any look a bit stubborn give them a few more seconds as they might just need a bit more time! If they don't open at all discard them.

Toss the cooked linguine through the sauce, adding a few splashes of pasta water to the sauce to bring it together. Add the parsley.

Arrange the pasta and shells on a platter with the fried seafood (fritto misto) on top and serve forth!

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Hugh Woodward

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Hugh's culinary life began aged 14 when he cooked spaghetti hoop burritos to impress girls. Since then his colourful career has taken him to performing in Skegness, making cheese in Peckham, running a wine bar on Columbia Road and reluctantly working in a (briefly) Michelin Starred restaurant. He likes fish, things cooked on charcoal, cheap dinners and London's rich cultural tapestry of food shops. When he's not cooking or eating he can be found mudlarking by the river Thames, buying bits in flea markets and hanging out with his cat Keith.