Since the heat doesn’t seem to stop, let’s continue with fresh and quick dishes to prepare, just like cold pasta with seafood, ready in 30 minutes with frozen or fresh fish!
It’s a light dish perfect for summer lunches, terrace dinners or to impress guests with an elegant yet accessible first course.
For this summer pasta salad, I propose an easy and quick version, designed for those who have little time but don’t want to sacrifice taste!
I used a practical frozen seafood mix, great for rice or pasta dishes. An ideal solution for improvising a last-minute lunch without sacrificing deliciousness.
However, if you want to spend a few more minutes on the preparation, you’ll also find the quantities and tips for making the recipe with fresh fish.
The cold pasta with seafood is a fresh and light summer first course. It’s made with short pasta, cherry tomatoes, and a mix of seafood (frozen or fresh). Just cook the seafood in a pan with garlic and oil, season the already cooled pasta, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.
If you love this kind of preparation, take a look at my best ideas for cold rice and pasta salads or find out how to vary with many easy and light summer salads.
For those who have little time but don’t want to sacrifice taste, I also recommend the section dedicated to recipes in 5 minutes.
Now let’s see together how to prepare this beautiful dish of Cold Pasta with Seafood, you’ll see it will disappear in a moment!
Make sure to read till the end, you’ll find useful tips for executing this dish and a little gift for you 🩷
Before that, I’ll leave you with some other recipes you might like:
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
👩🍳🥣🐟🎣🦐🦑 If you want, you can prepare this dish, as I did, with a frozen seafood mix for risottos and pasta dishes. Mine was a mix based on shelled mussels and clams, shrimp, squid, and calamari.
The total weight of the seafood mix varies between 300 and 400 grams depending on the packages you find.
- 11 oz pasta (short of your choice. Gluten-free for intolerances)
- 5 oz mussels (already cleaned and shelled)
- 3.5 oz calamari
- 5 oz clams (cleaned and shelled)
- 3.5 oz squid
- 3.5 oz shrimp (shelled)
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes (only red or red and yellow)
- 1 clove garlic
- chopped parsley
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper (if desired)
Tools
- Pan
- Saucepan
- Colander
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Bowl
- Ladle
- Paper towels
Steps
First, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water, drain it al dente, and cool it immediately under cold water.
Place the pasta in a large bowl, season with a drizzle of oil, and set aside.
Now prepare the dressing for your seafood pasta salad! Heat the oil with the garlic clove in a pan.
If you’re using, like me, the frozen mix, pour it directly into the pan still frozen and cook for about 8-10 minutes until the released liquid has evaporated.
Did you choose to use fresh fish? Then proceed this way.
After thoroughly washing the mussels and purging the clams, open them in a saucepan with a drizzle of oil and parsley for about 4-5 minutes over high heat (read at the end for proper cleaning).
Make sure to: discard those that remained closed and filter the cooking water by setting it aside.
Sauté calamari and squid for 6-7 minutes until they are tender. Three minutes before the end, add the already shelled shrimp to the same pan and continue until they turn pink.
Finally, add mussels and clams with a little of their filtered water and let it flavor for a minute. Then turn off and let cool completely.
Wash the cherry tomatoes thoroughly and cut them in half, add them to the pasta, and mix.
When the fish is also cold, add it to the pasta, season with olive oil, salt, and pepper (or chili if you like) and plenty of finely chopped fresh parsley.
Let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving so that all the flavors blend best.
And your cold pasta with seafood is ready to impress everyone! Without effort, you’ll have brought a truly tasty dish to the table!
Article protected by copyright © – Gabriella Geroni © All Rights Reserved
👉 If you liked this recipe, leave me a comment below, I love reading your opinions and suggestions 💬💖
📌 Don’t forget to share the recipe with your friends and come back to visit me so you don’t miss Mela Cannella e Fantasia’s next delights 🍏✨
Bon appetit and see you in the next recipe! 🍝🐟
Delicious variations to try:
🫑 Vegetables: add grilled zucchini, peppers, or fresh arugula for a touch of color.
🍋🍊 Citrus: flavor the dish with grated lemon zest or a few drops of orange juice.
🌿 Pesto: a teaspoon of Genoese pesto will make the dish even more aromatic.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
📌How to clean mussels?
Cleaning mussels is not difficult; it is just a bit tedious and requires time and patience! Here’s how to do it:
Put the mussels in a bowl and rinse them under running water.
Then, with the back of a knife blade, remove all the encrustations on the shell.
Pull out the beard that protrudes by pulling it with your fingers.
Then, under running water, clean the shell well with a steel wool pad to remove any dirt. Then proceed with the recipe.📌How to purge clams?
This is also not difficult, just a bit tedious!
First, wash the clams under running water, then put them in a large bowl full of water.
Leave the clams immersed in cold water to let them lose the sand inside.
Change the water at least a couple of times and leave the clams immersed in cold water for at least an hour. Then proceed to cook as described.📌What pasta is best to use for this type of preparation?
The ideal are short formats like fusilli, penne, or farfalle, but if you prefer, you can also use long pasta, as you prefer!
📌Why does my cold pasta always turn sticky?
This is normal, and the only trick to prevent it from becoming a glue is to drain the pasta al dente, cool it immediately under cold water, and season it with a drizzle of olive oil to keep it separated. Try it and see, it really works!
📌Is it better to use fresh or frozen fish?
This dish is excellent with both versions. I chose to use frozen fish because it is undeniably practical and quick, but obviously, fresh gives a more intense flavor. Choose based on your time and preferences 🥰
📌Can I prepare the seafood pasta in advance?
Sure! In fact, it’s always recommended to prepare cold pasta at least 1 hour before serving it so all the flavors are well blended. Of course, keep it in the fridge.
📌How to reduce excess liquid in frozen fish?
The frozen mix tends to release a lot of water during cooking, and to avoid a too liquid dressing, you can do this.
Use, as I do, the mix still frozen and cook it over high heat with a drizzle of oil, without a lid. This way, the water evaporates quickly.
Or you can defrost it first. In this case, leave it in the fridge for a few hours inside a colander, so it loses most of the excess water.
Patting it dry with paper towels after defrosting is definitely a very effective trick.📌Which wine pairs best with cold pasta with seafood?
This fresh and marine dish goes perfectly with a dry and aromatic white wine, which accompanies without covering the delicate sea flavors.
🍷Vermentino di Sardegna DOC: fresh, mineral, and with citrus notes.
🍷Falanghina del Sannio: slightly fruity, perfect with seafood.
🍷Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC: elegant and versatile, great if you’re looking for a more neutral pairing.
