Sorrento Sunshine Awaits
In Every Dish of Spaghetti al Limoncello

I make this recipe, and I'm in Sorrento, on the Amalfi Coast. I can feel that gentle breeze in my hair; the air is perfumed with the scent of the sea, jasmine, and lemons. I close my eyes, and a crystal-clear, impossibly blue Italian sea is stretching before me.

They say that aroma and taste are the best ways to bring back memories, and this dish is proof.

Thank you to Zia Amalia for sharing your secret recipe with us. How we've enjoyed the many times we've sat around your huge outdoor table under the grapevines, friends and family laughing, joking, and smiling. All of us are happy to be together and joyful at the thought of the dishes that will be coming out of Zia Amalia's kitchen.

Spaghetti al Limoncello is always one of the highlights, and it is one of my all-time favorite Italian spaghetti recipes. The limoncello doesn't make the pasta taste like a sweet liqueur. Instead, it gives the sauce a lovely citrusy note that works particularly well with the seafood. The pistachios add something else entirely: a subtle nuttiness and a little crunch.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 400–450 g spaghetti
• 250 g cleaned squid, cut into rings or bite-sized pieces
• 10 fresh clams, scrubbed and rinsed
• 25 fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 250 g prawns/shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 600 g chopped tomatoes
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped, or chilli flakes to taste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 70 ml limoncello
• 40–50 g shelled pistachios, finely ground
• 1 small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 lemon
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Before you start

Give the clams and mussels a good rinse under cold running water. Scrub the shells and remove any beards from the mussels.

If any shellfish are already open before cooking, give them a gentle tap. If they don't close, discard them.

Keep the seafood in the refrigerator while you prepare the sauce.

Making the sauce

Heat a generous splash of extra-virgin olive oil in a large, deep frying pan or sauté pan over a medium heat.

Add the onion and cook gently for 4–5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and chili and cook for another minute. You don't want the garlic to brown—it should simply become fragrant.

Add the tomato paste and stir it through the onion mixture for about 30 seconds.

Now comes the fun part. Pour in the limoncello and let it bubble for a minute or two. This cooks off much of the alcohol while leaving behind that lovely lemony character.

Add the chopped tomatoes, half of the ground pistachios, and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Bring everything to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should thicken slightly and become rich and glossy.

Add the seafood

Add the squid to the tomato sauce and cook for about 3–4 minutes.

Now add the clams and mussels. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for approximately 4–5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the shells have opened.

Discard any clams or mussels that remain firmly closed.

Finally, add the prawns. They only need a few minutes—usually around 2–3 minutes, depending on their size. As soon as they turn pink and opaque, they're ready.

Don't be tempted to keep cooking the seafood. This is one of those recipes where less is more. Overcooked seafood quickly becomes tough and chewy.

Cook the spaghetti

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil.

Cook the spaghetti until al dente, following the packet instructions but starting to test it a minute or two before the suggested cooking time.

Before draining, scoop out about half a cup of the pasta cooking water and set it aside.

Drain the spaghetti.

Bring everything together

Add the drained spaghetti directly to the pan with the seafood sauce.

Toss everything together over a low heat for a minute or two, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water if the sauce needs loosening.

This little bit of pasta water is important. It helps the sauce cling to the spaghetti instead of sitting at the bottom of the plate.

Turn off the heat.

Grate the zest from about half the lemon over the pasta and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Scatter over the remaining ground pistachios and the fresh parsley.

I like to finish with another small drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

A little Italian tip

Don't put cheese on the pasta. Parmesan and seafood are not a combination that any Italian would ever digest. The lemon, pistachios, and seafood already give you all the flavor you need.

And don't leave out the lemon zest. The fresh citrus at the end is what brings the whole dish together.

The limoncello gives the sauce its background lemon flavor, while the fresh lemon wakes everything up just before serving.

Serving Spaghetti al Limoncello

Bring the whole pan to the table if you can. There is something wonderfully Italian about putting a big, steaming pan of seafood spaghetti in the middle of the table and letting everyone help themselves.

Serve immediately, with plenty of crusty Italian bread for soaking up the tomato and seafood sauce.

A simple green salad on the side is all you really need.

And, of course, don't forget a glass of chilled white wine.

Buon appetito!

One final note from me

This isn't meant to be a rigid recipe. Italian cooking rarely works that way.

If you have beautiful fresh prawns, use them. If your fishmonger has wonderful clams but fewer mussels, change the proportions. If you love pistachios, sprinkle a few extra over the finished pasta.

What matters most is using good ingredients, cooking the seafood gently, and not overcomplicating things.

That's usually where the best Italian food begins.

And remember...

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