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Home » Recipes » Seafood Recipes

Sicilian Style Seafood with Pasta and Eggplant

Published: Jul 26, 2020 · Modified: Feb 21, 2022 by Chef Dennis Littley

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Enjoy my Sicilian Style Seafood on your table tonight!

One of the great joys of life for me is cooking. I love to mix up flavors, textures and add the unexpected to dishes whenever I can. That doesn’t I still don’t enjoy the classics, but every now and then I like to change it up a bit.

Sicilian style seafood served over a fried eggplant plank and linguine


 

The one thing I miss about my restaurant days is having all of those ingredients at my fingertips. All prepped, cut, and ready to go…… My sauces sitting on the back of the range and those special ingredients that I had for the night.

One of the greatest lessons Mama Jeanette taught me was to listen to the food. She would tell me “sonny boy, the food will tell you what it wants if you just listen”, and she was right. In my restaurant days, mixing ingredients had been my gift I, simply knowing without knowing what to add to make each creation a memorable experience. And when I had so many things to choose from sometimes those meals dishes became events.

Being at the shore everyone loved seafood, and broiled combos, lobsters and shrimp were always big sellers. What I tried to do was change the way my customers thought of seafood, and began serving it with different combinations of flavors and ingredients.

One of my favorite ingredients to use as a base is quick-fried eggplant. Tender and oh so flavorful, eggplant found itself under a number of different sauces and a variety of seafood.

Table of Contents:
  • What do I need to make Sicilian Style Seafood?
  • How do I make Sicilian Style Seafood?
  • More Italian Recipes You’ll Love!
  • Recipe: Sicilian Style Seafood

What do I need to make Sicilian Style Seafood?

ingredients to make sicilian style seafood

Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Sicilian Style Seafood. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.

Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

How do I make Sicilian Style Seafood?

4 picture process of breading eggplant

Let’s start by prepping the eggplant. 

  1. Coat eggplant in flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper
  2. Dip the floured eggplant into an egg wash
  3. Coat the egg-washed eggplant cutlet into the seasoned breadcrumbs, completely coating the eggplant
  4. Repeat the process until the eggplant is breaded
fried eggplant cutlets draining on a screen over a sheet pan

Saute the breaded eggplant cutlets until golden brown.

peppers, onions, mushroom, shrimp and scallops in a frying pan

With the eggplant prepped we can now get started on the sauce and seafood. Start by sauteing the peppers, onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil. Then adding in the shrimp and scallops to the pan. Cook the seafood till almost done and remove the shrimp and scallops from the pan. 

garlic, olives, basil and spices added to the sauteed vegetables

After removing the shrimp and scallops from the saute pan, add the garlic, olives, basil, and seasoning. Add additional olive oil if needed.

tomato sauce and grated Romano cheese added to the pan

Add the tomato sauce and grated Romano cheese to the pan and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes. When the sauce is ready add the shrimp and scallops to the pan and continue simmering for another 3-4 minutes.

seafood sicilian served over a fried eggplant plank and linguine

Serve the Sicilian Style Seafood over a quick-fried eggplant plank and linguine.

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seafood Sicilian on a white plate

Sicilian Style Seafood

Chef Dennis Littley
When it comes to pasta and seafood you can count on Sicilians to come up with deliciousness! Your family is going to love this delicious dish, complete with a fried eggplant plank and linguine.
5 from 77 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Entree
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2
Calories 937 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Eggplant Planks

  • 2 slices eggplant cut the long way
  • ½ cup flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 large egg whipped with a little added water
  • ½ cup bread crumbs seasoned or plain

Sicilian Style Seafood

  • olive oil as needed
  • 6 large shrimp cleaned peeled and deveined
  • 8 large scallops
  • ½ cup diced onion diced
  • ½ cup red pepper diced
  • 1 cup mushrooms sliced
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • ⅓ cup green and black olives sliced
  • 2 cups tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
  • ½ cup grated Romano cheese
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
  • ⅙ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • sea salt and black pepper to taste

Assembly

  • ½ lb linguine
  • 1 teaspoon parsley finely chopped
  • 2 eggplant planks quick-fried

Instructions
 

Quick Fried Eggplant Planks

  • Peel and slice eggplant into long planks
  • flour eggplant planks, dip in egg wash, then into seasoned bread crumbs. continue until all the eggplant planks have been breaded.
  • Heat pan and add olive oil and quick fry breaded eggplant planks on both sides until golden brown. Keep warm in 250 degree oven until ready to serve.
  • {Start water for pasta. Begin cooking pasta when the sauce is simmering }

Sicilian Style Seafood

  • In a large skillet hot and add a little olive oil, mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Saute until mushrooms and peppers have softened.
  • Add the shrimp and scallops to the pan and sear them on both sides. Cook until almost done, then remove the seafood from the pan and hold until needed.
    Do not cook the seafood completely, it will be finished later in the sauce.
  • Add olives, garlic, basil, and seasonings to the pan and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the tomato sauce and grated Romano cheese to the pan and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes. If the mixture gets too thick add in a little water.
  • When the sauce is ready to serve add the shrimp and scallops to the pan and continue simmering for another 4-6 minutes.

Assembly

  • Place fried eggplant plank on plate and a mound of past next to it. Place shrimp and scallops on eggplant, spoon sauce over both and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 937kcalCarbohydrates: 157gProtein: 49gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 167mgSodium: 2669mgPotassium: 1817mgFiber: 14gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 2710IUVitamin C: 71mgCalcium: 185mgIron: 9mg
Tried this recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askchefdennis or tag #askchefdennis!

Comments

    5 from 77 votes (47 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Andréa Janssen says

    July 27, 2020 at 1:49 pm

    5 stars
    This is a recipe with such a lot of flavor. Really delicious!

    Reply
  2. Emily Flint says

    July 27, 2020 at 11:12 am

    5 stars
    Everyone loved this seafood pasta! I will definitely be making this again in the future.

    Reply
  3. Gloria says

    July 27, 2020 at 10:15 am

    5 stars
    I am a pasta lover. Shimp and pasta are a delicious combination. Love the addition of eggplant in this weeknight winner dinner.

    Reply
  4. Sue says

    July 27, 2020 at 9:45 am

    5 stars
    The sauce for this Sicilian seafood is wonderful. And I love the use of eggplant – so unexpected!

    Reply
  5. Alexandra says

    July 27, 2020 at 8:30 am

    5 stars
    We are huge eggplant fans, and this pasta is our new favourite! So delicious!

    Reply
  6. Diane Buerkle says

    February 04, 2018 at 9:01 am

    5 stars
    Chef Dennis – we made this wonderful recipe last night – it was fantastic!! Restaurant worthy for sure! We followed the recipe very closely only making small changes to accommodate our personal tastes and slicing the eggplant in round slices so we could leave the skin on for cooking. Also, salted the slices both sides and placed on paper towels for 45 minutes to draw out the moisture prior to cooking.

    This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      February 04, 2018 at 10:43 am

      Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed my recipe Diane! And I always say recipes are simply guidelines, I’m glad you adapted it to make it your own

      Reply
  7. Kimby says

    January 09, 2013 at 4:56 pm

    I’m so glad Mama Jeanette encouraged your knack for finding flavor combinations by listening to the food! Terrific advice!

    Reply
  8. Minnie@thelady8home says

    January 09, 2013 at 11:19 am

    5 stars
    This looks so delicious!! Bookmarking it!!

    Reply
  9. Candace says

    January 08, 2013 at 7:45 pm

    This looks delicious! I love, love, love eggplant AND seafood.

    Reply
  10. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

    January 08, 2013 at 6:39 pm

    This looks so good, Chef! Love the eggplant and seafood pairing!

    Reply
  11. Betty Ann @Mango_Queen says

    January 08, 2013 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe is divine. I’m reading this post at lunch time and I’m drooling. Must bookmark this to try soon. I love eggplant so much and this is right up my alley. Thanks for sharing, Chef Dennis!

    Reply
  12. Larry says

    January 08, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    Looks amazing Dennis as your dishes always do. If I were wealthy, I’d try to hire you away from your school but since I’m not, I’ll just try to replicate some of your food.

    Reply
  13. Happy Ramblings says

    January 08, 2013 at 10:27 am

    What an interesting mix of flavours and so quick and easy to make! Aubergines are in season here at the moment so I have added this to my list of recipes to try.

    Reply
  14. RavieNomNoms says

    January 08, 2013 at 8:04 am

    Oh that looks just simply perfect!! YUM!

    Reply
  15. anna says

    January 07, 2013 at 10:43 pm

    5 stars
    i love your seafood! this looks delish! can’t wait to try those eggplant planks…

    Reply
Newer Comments »


My name is Chef Dennis Littley, creator and owner of Ask Chef Dennis Productions. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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