This is typical of Istrian preparations for the abundance of fresh seafood that blesses the region—fast, simple, and full of flavor. The longest step is cutting the pasta dough into diamond-shaped pasutice, which can be done hours ahead or frozen way in advance. (And though pasutice is the optimal and traditional pasta, linguine would be a fine substitute.) For the sauce itself, the cooking takes just minutes. Use your widest skillet, so the shellfish sauté and caramelize quickly in the dry pan, then cook them only briefly in the liquid, or they will become rubbery.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　1 batch (1 1/2 pounds) fresh pasutice, page 20

　　18 littleneck clams (1 1/2 pounds or so in the shell), scrubbed

　　1/2 pound small raw shrimp in the shell (about 20 shrimp, U-40 size)

　　1/2 pound sea scallops, preferably “dry” (not soaked in preservative)

　　1/2 teaspoon or more coarse sea salt or kosher salt, plus more for the pasta

　　10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　6 plump garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

　　1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

　　1 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand

　　2 tablespoons or so chopped fresh Italian parsley

　　

Recommended Equipment

A pasta machine for rolling the dough

　　A shucking knife or other knife with sturdy blade

　　A big pot for cooking the pasta

　　A heavy 14-inch skillet or sauté pan, or the widest pan you have

　　

Step 1

The pasutice can be made a few hours ahead and kept at room temperature until you cook them (or frozen long in advance, as detailed on page 20).

　　

Step 2

To prepare the shellfish, put the clams in a single layer on a tray or platter and freeze them for about 1/2 hour. Open the shells with a shucking knife, cut out the clams, and slice each one into quarters. Collect the clam liquor in a bowl as you shuck, let the sediment settle, and pour off the clean liquor on top, saving it for the sauce.

　　

Step 3

Remove the shells, tails, and small digestive vein from the shrimp, then rinse and pat them dry.

　　

Step 4

Pull off and discard the little muscle on the side of each scallop, and slice them in half horizontally, into thin disks.

　　

Step 5

Meanwhile, bring 7 quarts water and 1 1/2 tablespoons salt to the boil in the big pot. Keep it covered and simmering, so you can cook the pasutice quickly when the seafood sauce is ready.

　　

Step 6

Pour 4 tablespoons of the olive oil into the big skillet, toss in the crushed garlic and the peperoncino, and cook over medium-high heat until the garlic is fragrant and lightly colored. Turn up the heat, scatter the shrimp and scallop slices around the pan, spread out so they start sizzling and caramelizing. Cook for just a minute, toss and turn the shellfish, then scatter the clam chunks in the hot pan and get them sizzling.

　　

Step 7

Pour in the cup of crushed tomatoes, the clam liquor, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bring to a bubbling boil, then adjust the heat to keep the juices bubbling steadily. Pour another 1/4 cup of olive oil into the sauce, and stir in well. Cook for about 2 minutes, slightly reducing, then toss in half of the chopped parsley, and turn off the heat—temporarily.

　　

Step 8

Meanwhile, bring the pasta water to a rolling boil and drop in the pasutice quickly by handfuls, shaking off excess flour, and stirring to keep the pieces from sticking. Cover the pot, and return to the boil rapidly. Cook only until the pasutice have risen to the surface and are just al dente, a minute or two or maybe more, depending on how dry and thick they are.

　　

Step 9

When the pasutice are almost done, return the shellfish sauce to a bubbling simmer. Lift out the diamonds with a spider, drain briefly, and drop them into the skillet. Toss the pasutice and shellfish together for a couple of minutes, until the pasta is perfectly cooked and coated with the dressing. Cook rapidly over high heat if the sauce is soupy, or ladle in a bit of water from the pasta-cooking pot to thin it.

　　

Step 10

Turn off the heat, and dress the pasutice with a final flourish of olive oil, 2 tablespoons or so, and sprinkle the rest of the parsley over. Serve immediately in warm pasta bowls.

　　From Lidia's Italy by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Copyright (c) 2007 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Published by Knopf.Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York.