The Devilishly Spicy Pasta Sauce You Need To Start Pairing With Seafood

Seafood is a delicate-tasting cuisine, often paired with simple ingredients to prevent its mild flavor from getting lost in the sauce. With pasta, that typically translates to a nutty brown butter sauce or creamy Alfredo. When you're in the mood for something spicy you may think a bold tomato sauce will overtake the main ingredient, but fra diavolo is a fiery sauce that makes seafood sing.

Fra diavolo has the makings of your everyday red pasta sauce — it's made up of tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano, garlic, and onions. What gives the sauce its name, which translates to "brother devil," are the red pepper flakes that flavor it. The peppers infuse the sauce with a spicy kick, giving it a delightful heat that balances the sweet seafood. Red pepper flakes have a subtle earthiness to them that slightly grounds seafood without majorly impacting its flavor. And for most experimental cooks, you can actually make red pepper flakes from scratch using a chili of your choosing.

What really makes fra diavolo one of the best types of pasta sauce for seafood its a splash of white wine. It delivers a bright, fresh effect that mirrors seafood beautifully. The extra liquid also helps to thin out the sauce, giving fra diavolo its classic, light consistency. You can simmer the seafood along with the sauce so it'll develop a spicy flavor, or cook it separately and toss it in at the end.

Fra diavolo works well with a variety of seafood, particularly shrimp. The crustaceans possess a tender flavor and texture that is incredible in a fiery red sea of sauce. Pair shrimp fra diavolo with linguine for a bold take on the classic seafood pasta dish. Shrimp's flavor works well with a variety of peppers, so you can use regular chilis for the red pepper flakes, or use Calabrian peppers instead.

The red sauce is also the answer to how to pair bay scallops and pasta for a stunning dinner. Not only does it deliver a dose of heat to each delicate bite, but the white wine keeps things light and fresh, while herbs like basil and oregano provide an earthiness that enhances the delicious scallops. Meanwhile, the red pepper flakes elevate the overall dish with a searing heat that doesn't distract from the buttery taste of the scallops.

The same effect is given to mussels, as well. The mollusks' luscious, sweet meat is transformed when simmered in the spicy sauce. While it's naturally delicious, the white wine-infused tomato sauce amps up the flavor while increasing the tenderness of the seafood.