Seafood Sauces

Fresh shellfish sauces are approached in several ways. One typical method, usually used for clams and mussels, consists of steaming open the shellfish with a little water or white wine, combining the cooking liquid with olive oil, butter, or occasionally cream, and tossing the cooked pasta with the liquid (sometimes reduced but often not). Crustacean sauces are often nothing more than the whole crustacean—shrimp, scampi (langoustines), or mantis shrimp (Mediterranean shrimp-like crustaceans)—sautéed in olive oil and sprinkled with chopped herbs, and perhaps some chunks of tomato. The whole combination is then tossed with the pasta. Occasionally, crustacean shells are infused into cream or used to make a crustacean butter, either of which is then used in the sauce (see Fettuccine and Shrimp with Crustacean Cream Sauce).