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Home » Recipes » Main Courses » Fish & Seafood » Spaghetti Al Farouk: Seafood in a Curry-Spiced Cream Sauce

Spaghetti Al Farouk: Seafood in a Curry-Spiced Cream Sauce

Published June 21, 2011. Last updated December 29, 2019 by Judy Purcell 5 Comments

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Spaghetti Al Farouk in a white bowl. Mussels, shrimp in a creamy curry sauce.

Simple Italy is a blog that I follow that feeds my inner Italian. It is no secret that we love Italian food, but Spaghetti Al Farouk is not the usual Italian fare.

Curry, ginger, and thyme hint of cuisine farther east of the Abruzzo coastline, which the story behind this dish bears out.

This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more information.

The recipe comes from the cookbook by Domenica Marchetti, The Glorious Pasta of Italy (Chronicle Books, 2011), and this recipe is absolutely stellar.

Domenica describes this dish in this way, “The platter that came to the table was alive with color—deep yellow from the curry and saffron, and bright orange and red from the shellfish, with splashes of glossy black from the mussel shells. The sauce was rich, spicy, and earthy; the seafood was briny and sweet.”

Oh boy, does it! It’s a gorgeous dish that awakens the taste buds and worthy of any celebration.

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Spaghetti Al Farouk

The sauce is rich, spicy, and earthy; the seafood is briny and sweet.

Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time40 minutes mins
Course: Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
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Ingredients

  • 2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 large sweet onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large pinch saffron threads rubbed or ground to a powder
  • 5    teaspoons curry powder
  • 3/4   teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 pound dried spaghetti
  • 12 mussels well-scrubbed and debearded if necessary
  • 16 large shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 6 ounces frozen shelled cooked langoustine tails or more shrimp and mussels
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Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt generously.
  • In a frying pan large enough to hold all of the seafood, warm the olive oil and butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted and begins to sizzle, add the onion, and stir to coat with the oil and butter. Sauté, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes until the onion is softened but not browned. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the saffron, curry powder, ginger, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and a generous grind of pepper, taking care to incorporate all of the herbs and spices. Stir in the lemon juice, raise the heat to medium-high, and pour in the wine. Let the sauce simmer briskly for about 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the cream. Bring the sauce back to a very gentle simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Add the pasta to the boiling water, stir to separate the noodles, and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions until al dente. If the pasta water is not yet boiling, reduce the heat under the sauce to low and wait until the pasta water boils. Once the pasta is in the water, proceed with finishing the sauce.
  • Add the mussels, shrimp/prawns, and langoustine tails to the simmering sauce, cover, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the mussels open, the shrimp/prawns are just cooked through, and the langoustine tails are heated through. Discard any mussels that did not open.
  • Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water. If the frying pan is large enough to contain both the pasta and the sauce, add the pasta to the frying pan and gently toss the pasta and sauce to combine thoroughly, adding a splash or two of the cooking water if necessary to loosen the sauce. If the frying pan is not large enough, return the pasta to the pot, add about two-thirds of the sauce, toss to combine thoroughly, and then top with the remaining sauce when serving.
  • Transfer the dressed pasta to a warmed serving bowl or shallow individual bowls. Serve immediately.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Domenica Marchetti’s Simple Italy Cookbook
 

Nutrition

Calories: 1210kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 90g | Saturated Fat: 53g | Cholesterol: 388mg | Sodium: 471mg | Potassium: 593mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3364IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 3mg
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Spaghetti Al Farouk going to the table in a large, deep platter.
Heading to the table — dining outside makes it that much better!

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Filed Under: Fish & Seafood, Italian, Pasta, Recipes Tagged With: Abruzzo, Chronicle Books, cooking, curry, curry pasta, Domenica Marchetti, food, Italian, Italian Cookbooks, Italy, Pasta, recipe, Savoring Today Test Kitchen Tuesday, seafood, Simple Italy, Spaghetti, Spaghetti Al Farouk, The Glorious Pasta of Italy

Comments

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    Rating




  1. Maria says

    February 4, 2020 at 8:11 am

    5 stars
    This recipe is fantastic! I wasn’t sure I’d like a curry cream sauce but know I’m hooked.

    Reply
  2. domonicacooks says

    November 15, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    I just found this post today. Many thanks for the shout-out and for making one of my favorite recipes. Your photos are gorgeous.

    Cheers & buon appetito!
    Domenica

    Reply
    • Judy Purcell says

      November 15, 2011 at 7:24 pm

      Really, it is a fabulous recipe, easy to recommend! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting 🙂

      Reply
  3. Judy says

    June 26, 2011 at 8:58 am

    Wow, I don’t know how it could get much better; enjoyed this dish last night with friends, outside on the deck, and it received rave reviews from everyone. It was delicious, a great discovery.

    Here’s my notes:
    1. added 2 large cloves of garlic (could have done more)
    2. doubled the sauce
    3. used only 1 pound of pasta which served 8
    4. doubled the number of mussels as a substitute for langoustine tails

    Reply
  4. rsmacaalay says

    June 22, 2011 at 1:19 am

    Saffron, ginger and curry powder on a Spaghetti, this sounds interesting

    Reply
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