Ingredients

• 1 pound large shrimp (heads intact, unpeeled)

• About 5 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

• 1 leek, quartered

• 2 large bay leaves

• A few peppercorns

• 1 lemon, 1/2 sliced

• About 2 cups chicken stock

• A pinch saffron threads

• 3 shallots, finely chopped

• 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 teaspoons (2/3 palmful) chili flakes or 

  1 tablespoon Calabrian chili paste

• 1/2 cup dry vermouth 

  or white wine

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 28-ounce can crushed Italian tomatoes

• About 1/2 pound calamari bodies, cut into 1/4-inch rings

• 18 mussels, cleaned

• 1 pound linguini

Directions

Clean, peel and devein the shrimp saving the heads and shells.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon EVOO in a saucepot and toast the shrimp shells and heads. Add leek, bay leaves, peppercorns and a couple of slices of lemon. Cover with stock and add saffron threads. Bring to boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Reduce by half.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add shrimp and sear 1 minute on each side then remove from pan. Dress shrimp with lemon juice from remaining half lemon. Return pan to heat, add 2 tablespoons more EVOO, shallots and garlic, and swirl or stir 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, thyme, sugar and chili flakes or chili paste, stir a minute more and add dry vermouth or wine.

Strain saffron-shrimp stock and add to pan then swirl in butter to melt. Stir tomatoes into sauce and bring to a simmer. Add mussels, calamari and shrimp then cover and cook 7-8 minutes to open mussels and cook shrimp through.

While seafood cooks, cook linguine in salted boiling water to al dente, reserve 1/2 cup cooking water then drain.

Toss pasta with sauce and starchy cooking water, transfer to serving platter and serve.