25 Italian Seafood Recipes to Transport You to Italy (2024)

Italy boasts nearly 5,000 miles of beautiful coastline, a fact certainly reflected in the bright, fresh flavors of its Mediterranean cuisine. For this recipe collection, we've gathered our best Italian seafood dishes to take your palate to the water's edge, from garlicky shrimp with polenta to summery crab carbonara and creamy, indulgent lobster risotto. Choose your favorite, feel the sea breeze, and get cooking. Buon appetito!

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Ligurian Seafood Stew

25 Italian Seafood Recipes to Transport You to Italy (1)

After blanching peas, snap peas, and fingerling potatoes, chef Andrew Carmellini adds them to a homemade mussel broth along with sea bass, clams, an herb pesto, and little seafood meatballs made with shrimp, chorizo, and scallops. Here, we've narrowed the ingredient list to the delicious basics — shrimp, sea bass, and clams. Use bottled clam broth as a stand-in for mussel broth and flavor it with spicy chorizo.

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02of 25

Venetian Shrimp with Polenta

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"All you need to do is make a batch of polenta, which isn't hard at all; it just requires some stirring," says food writer David McCann. "And while the polenta simmers away, all you'll need to do is cook some garlic and white wine and stock, add butter, and, literally two minutes (at most) before you want to serve, toss in the shrimp."

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03of 25

Cioppino with Fennel and Saffron

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An abundance of seafood and three types of fennel (bulb, seed, and pollen) infuse chef Brandon Boudet's version of this Italian-American fish stew with remarkable flavor, while Calabrian chile paste and crushed red pepper add a subtle layer of heat. Because the West Coast is famous for its Dungeness crab, a large orange crab with meaty claws, it makes a dramatic showing in this seafood-packed dish.

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04of 25

Lobster Risotto

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A small pinch of saffron goes a long way in imparting a vibrant golden hue and floral fragrance to this creamy, indulgent lobster risotto. Precooked lobster and bottled clam juice deliver robust layers of flavor with a minimum amount of effort, making this a perfect weeknight supper.

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Spaghetti with Clams and Garlic

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This exquisite, super-simple version of spaghetti con vongole from the chef-owners of Brooklyn's Frankies 457 Spuntino, Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli, is packed with garlic and a judicious amount of crushed red pepper. If you prefer, shell the clams before tossing them with their juices in the pasta.

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Langoustines alla Busara

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Venice- and London-based blogger Skye McAlpine loves the delicate flavor of langoustines, but to her the real magic of the dish is the super-flavorful tomato sauce in which they simmer. Be sure to have plenty of crusty bread on hand to soak up the sauce.

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07of 25

All'Amatriciana with Extra Umami

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Anchovies please! Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg makes her amatriciana sauce with anchovies, so it's extra savory.

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08of 25

Grilled Shrimp with Oregano and Lemon

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The sauce for this shrimp is a simple version of Italy's salmoriglio, typically made with lemon and herbs in a mortar. The sauce is also delicious spooned over grilled swordfish or any other meaty fish.

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09of 25

Risotto-Style Ditalini with Mussels, Clams, and Saffron

25 Italian Seafood Recipes to Transport You to Italy (9)

For this creamy dish, chefs Tyler Rodde and Curtis Di Fede use a fish stock to cook pasta slowly, risotto-style. If you can't find ditalini, look for another small pasta shape or pearl couscous.

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10of 25

Linguine Piccole with Grilled Swordfish and Parsley Anchovy Sauce

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In this delicious dish, the anchovies provide a roundness and depth of flavor rather than a strong hit of anchovy. If you like, you can swap tuna for the swordfish.

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Sardinian-Style Paella

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Fregola, the pearl-size Sardinian pasta that is quite similar to couscous, makes a terrific substitute for rice in this paella-style dish; it soaks up a lot of the cooking liquid from the seafood, tomato, and chorizo stew and still stays nicely chewy. For such an impressive main course, it can be prepared surprisingly quickly.

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12of 25

Rigatoni with Sea Bass and Tomatoes

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Chef Marc Vetri uses oversized paccheri for this seafood pasta, but rigatoni works just as well with the juicy tomato sauce and fish.

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Clam Risotto with Bacon and Chives

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If you buy just-shucked whole clams rather than already chopped clams in a container, use their liquid instead of the bottled clam juice; just be sure to strain it first through a paper towel to remove any grit.

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Squid Pizza with Saffron Aïoli

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Chef Michael Emanuel, an alumnus of Berkeley's Chez Panisse, tops this pizza with an irresistible mix of Provençal flavors: salty-sweet roasted squid, creamy aïoli, and crushed red pepper (French piment d'Espelette would also work well). The remaining aïoli can be used as a dip for vegetables or a spread for sandwiches.

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Italian Seafood Stew

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In this luscious tomato-rich stew, chef Marco Canora cooks calamari slowly until it becomes super tender. He says calamari is absolutely essential to the success of the dish, because it releases its liquid as it simmers, which adds a huge amount of flavor to the sauce.

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Spaghetti with Anchovy Carbonara

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Chef Chris Cosentino adds briny flavor to his pasta with cured tuna heart, which he shaves on right before serving. This recipe calls for anchovies rather than the tuna heart Cosentino uses. Egg yolks form a silky sauce.

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Saffron Spaghetti with Santa Barbara Spot Prawns

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Spot prawns are incredibly sweet, with plump, tender tails reminiscent of lobster. Be sure to remove the prawns from the pan before finishing the sauce to keep them from overcooking.

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Monkfish Piccata

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Monkfish, with its tender, springy bite reminiscent of lobster, is firm and sweet enough to stand up to this lemony butter sauce enriched with white miso. Plenty of briny capers and caperberries help balance the richness.

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Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers

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2020 F&W Best New Chef Douglass Williams' method for carbonara allows you to hold the cooked pasta before adding it to the garlic–oil–pasta cooking liquid emulsion. It makes for a simple, creamy carbonara without the stress.

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Seafood Stew with Saffron Zabaglione

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For this brothy stew full of wonderfully moist snapper, tender squid, and plump mussels and clams, prepare the ingredients separately so nothing becomes over- or undercooked. To make the lush saffron zabaglione, which gets stirred into the stew, egg yolks are cooked slowly in wine over the gentle heat of simmering water.

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Spaghetti with Shrimp, Lemon, Mint, and Pecorino

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Roman chef Angelo Troiani riffs on the classic spaghetti ajo, ojo, e peperoncino (garlic, oil, and chile), embellishing it with shrimp, lemon, pecorino, almond, and mint. It's simple, delicious, and crowd-pleasing.

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Judith's Dungeness Crab Cioppino

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For Christmas Eve dinner, Judith Tirado, chef Michael Mina's late mother-in-law, always prepared cioppino — the San Francisco seafood stew that owes its origins to fishermen from Italy's Ligurian coast. "She'd spend a whole day infusing the broth with basil and tomatoes," Mina recalls. Now he carries on the tradition by making her hearty, briny recipe full of crab, shrimp, and clams.

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Sea Bass with Sicilian Cherry Tomato Sauce

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Extra Virgin hosts Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos riff on classic Southern Italian puttanesca with their Sicilian Cherry Tomato Sauce, here made with fresh tomatoes. The recipe calls for wild sea bass, but Mazar and Corcos like to make it with almost any fish, especially rich and oily ones like mackerel or bluefish.

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Marinated Fish with Salmoriglio Sauce

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This tangy, buttery salmoriglio sauce — a Sicilian classic — is spectacularly delicious with many kinds of fish, not just those specified here; it's always best to simply trust your eyes and nose and buy what's freshest at the fish market.

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Creamy Seafood Risotto

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For this risotto, arborio rice is cooked with onion, saffron, wine, and clam juice. Once the rice is done, shrimp and crab are sautéed with butter and shallot and stirred into the rice with mascarpone cheese to elevate the dish's creaminess factor. Fragrant, substantial Soave is a great complement here.

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25 Italian Seafood Recipes to Transport You to Italy (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular seafood in Italy? ›

In Italy, one of the most popular and iconic seafood dishes is "Calamari" or squid. These tender, flavorful mollusks are prepared in various ways, such as fried calamari, stuffed calamari, or served in seafood pasta dishes like "spaghetti alle vongole" (with clams) or "risotto ai frutti di mare" (seafood risotto).

What is a famous Italian fish dish? ›

The Italian dish most commonly made with fish is pasta alle vongole, or pasta with clams.

What seafood is native to Italy? ›

There are many regional variations in Italian seafood. Along the Adriatic coast, you would traditionally eat eels and clams. In Northern Italy, larger fish, especially cod, are very popular ingredients in traditional dishes. Traditional central Italian seafood tends to come from anchovies, sardines, and tuna.

What type of seafood is served in the Italian dish? ›

Whether you choose squid, clams, cuttlefish, salmon, or lobster, it will be a delicious treat for your taste buds. The most popular ingredients in many Italian seafood dishes include clams, mussels, squid, cuttlefish, and and octopus. Lobster, shrimps, and prawns are also well loved.

What is the number 1 food in Italy? ›

Pizza. Besides pasta, pizza is perhaps the most popular and recognized Italian food. Pizza is considered a national symbol representing Italy to the rest of the world, so much so that UNESCO has acknowledged pizza as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

What are the 3 most popular foods in Italy? ›

When it comes to food and drink, few can top Italy's stellar reputation. Ask anyone to name their favourite dishes and you can guarantee things like pizza, pasta and gelato soon come tripping off the tongue.

What is the Italian 7 fishes dinner? ›

This pasta involves seven fish: clams, mussels, halibut, shrimp, anchovy, calamari and scallops.

What is a traditional Italian 7 fish dinner? ›

Typical feast

The meal's components may include some combination of anchovies, whiting, lobster, sardines, baccalà (dried salt cod), smelts, eels, squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels and clams. The menu may also include pasta, vegetables, baked goods and wine.

Why is there no cheese on seafood in Italy? ›

Andrea and I agree that the habit of not mixing fish and cheese most probably stems from the fact that, for the most part, fish and seafood tend to have a more subtle, delicate flavor which can easily be overpowered by that of many kinds of cheese.

What is the fruit of the sea in Italian? ›

the Sea.” Did you realize that Italy is primarily. surrounded by water?

Is lobster eaten in Italy? ›

Lobster Fra Diavolo is an exceedingly popular staple of Italian restaurants and homespun recipes alike, with eaters willing to fork over money for the cost of adding lobster to the fiery pasta dish.

What are shrimp called in Italy? ›

In the United States, "shrimp scampi" is the menu name for shrimp in Italian-American cuisine (the actual word for "shrimp" in Italian is gambero or gamberetto, plural gamberi or gamberetti).

Do Italians put seafood on pizza? ›

One of the most popular seafood pizzas invented in Italy is Frutti di Mare. Its toppings commonly serve scampi, mussels, or squid on top of a tomato sauce with no cheese.

Do people in Italy eat a lot of fish? ›

Similar to pizza and pasta, Italians are obsessed with eating seafood. According to a survey, 68% of Italians have seafood-related items at least once a week. And they mainly order fresh online seafood from different stores.

What are the main fish products in Italy? ›

The main exports from Italy in terms of value are skipjack tuna (17%) and prepared/preserved fish products (9.3%). Salmonids and shellfish are the most significant live/fresh fish exports.

Do they eat a lot of fish in Italy? ›

There's no doubt about it – Italians love their fish! And there are plenty of good reasons why this aquatic fare is so popular in the Boot-shaped country. From coastal towns to the best Italian restaurants in the heart of the country, you can find restaurants serving up some of the world's best seafood dishes.

Is lobster popular in Italy? ›

Lobster Fra Diavolo is an exceedingly popular staple of Italian restaurants and homespun recipes alike, with eaters willing to fork over money for the cost of adding lobster to the fiery pasta dish.

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