Seafood Pasta Aglio e Olio (Printable)

Italian pasta featuring shrimp, clams, garlic oil, chili flakes, and parsley with a silky sauce.

# What You Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 9 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined
02 - 1 lb fresh clams, scrubbed and rinsed

→ Pasta

03 - 14 oz spaghetti

→ Aromatics & Flavorings

04 - 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
05 - 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
06 - 1/2 to 1 tsp red chili flakes, to taste
07 - 1/2 cup dry white wine
08 - 1 lemon, zested and juiced
09 - 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
10 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish (optional)

11 - Additional chopped parsley
12 - Lemon wedges

# How To Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water then drain pasta.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and red chili flakes; sauté until garlic is golden and aromatic, about 1 minute, taking care not to burn.
03 - Add shrimp to the skillet and sauté for 2 minutes until just pink. Remove shrimp and set aside.
04 - Add clams and white wine to the skillet. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, occasionally shaking the pan, until clams open. Discard any unopened clams.
05 - Return shrimp to the skillet. Add drained pasta, lemon zest and juice, and most of the parsley. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water as needed to create a silky sauce.
06 - Adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with additional parsley and lemon wedges if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • Ready in under 35 minutes, which means you can serve restaurant-quality seafood pasta on a weeknight without stress.
  • The garlic-infused oil becomes a silky sauce that clings to every strand, no heavy cream needed.
  • Those opened clams and pink shrimp are proof that you actually pulled off something impressive.
02 -
  • Do not—and I mean do not—let your garlic brown, because burnt garlic will overpower every other flavor in the dish and there's no coming back from it.
  • Reserve your pasta water before draining because that starchy liquid is the secret to a silky sauce that actually clings to the pasta instead of pooling at the bottom.
  • If a clam refuses to open during cooking, throw it away without guilt; an unopened clam is a sign something's wrong with it.
03 -
  • Slice your garlic consistently so every piece cooks at the same rate—no burnt slivers mixed with undercooked ones.
  • Keep the heat at medium rather than cranking it up; you're coaxing flavors out gently, not rushing them.
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