In all its various shapes, sizes, and textures, pasta provides the perfect backdrop for your favorite combinations of seafood, sauces, and seasonings. Find great ideas for salads, casseroles, Italian-accented bowls big enough for a family -- even pad thai -- in our collection of 32 fish and shellfish recipes that really use their noodles.

Saute shrimp with scallions and peas, then simmer with white wine, lemon zest, and red-pepper flakes to create a light sauce. Toss with hot cooked fusilli pasta and watercress (or spinach leaves) until the greens wilt.

Fold together creamy cheese sauce, cooked macaroni, and tender bites of seafood, and top with seasoned panko breadcrumbs before baking. Use any combination of cheeses and cooked seafood for this recipe.

Steam littleneck clams or cockles, and combine with cooked linguine and spicy, garlic-infused olive oil. To create especially vibrant flavor in this dish, marinate the garlic and red-pepper flakes in the olive oil for up to eight hours ahead of time.

White-wine cream sauce softens the salty edge of smoked salmon in this delectable pasta dish; toss the sauce with cooked penne pasta and chopped chives.

Good old tuna casserole is new again with the addition of red bell peppers, artichoke hearts, and scallions. This casserole freezes very well, so make an extra to save for a busy night.

Season seared scallops with thyme and lemon zest, and combine with pappardelle pasta and toasted breadcrumbs. Cutting the scallops in half horizontally makes them cook faster.

Make a favorite Thai takeout dish at home, starting with a special sauce made of lime juice, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. For perfect results, take care not to overcook the shrimp or the rice noodles.

To make this generous dish -- a great main course at a festive dinner -- boil four one-pound lobsters for five minutes before cutting into eight pieces each. Saute the tails and steam the rest of the lobster, then toss with chiles, garlic, and spaghetti, and garnish with fresh mint.

The unusual combination of salami and pepperoncini with shrimp is sure to become a family favorite. Add sweet red, yellow, and orange peppers to the mix and serve with capellini (angel hair pasta).

Toss cooked spaghetti with lemon zest, parsley, slivered Kalamata olives, and canned tuna for an easy but sophisticated dinner. Toasted whole-wheat breadcrumbs add delectable crunch to the dish.

The aniselike flavor of tarragon and the freshness of lemon zest are a pleasing complement to butter-sauteed leeks and scallops. Serve with spaghetti or any other long pasta.

You can use fresh or canned sardines in this spaghetti dish from Mario Batali, seasoned with orange zest and fennel bulb, fennel seeds, and fennel pollen, a sweet-and-intense spice that is harvested from the plant's flower. Look for it at gourmet grocery stores and from online sources.

To make this Italian-American restaurant favorite, steam Manila clams in white wine, garlic, onion, and red-pepper flakes for a few minutes until the shells open. Mix in butter, parsley, and al dente linguine to finish the dish.

This easy pasta dinner for one is bursting with flavor from lemon zest, fresh parsley, toasted almonds, garlic, tuna, and green beans. Chopped olives and capers also make great additions to this recipe.

Use canned diced tomatoes with roasted garlic to get a flavorful jump-start on the spicy, caper-studded sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes and combine with sauteed shrimp and penne pasta.

Dress chilled Japanese udon noodles with soy sauce, rice vinegar, grapeseed oil, chili sauce, and yuzu juice. Top each serving with lump crabmeat, julienned cucumber, radish sprouts, and black sesame seeds.

Chef Mario Batali's fideos with seafood is a traditional Spanish dish made of noodles (or "fideos"), mussels, shrimp, and clams, a flavorful wine-and-saffron stock, and tomato sauce.

Shrimp, garlic, mint, and Kalamata olives transport you to the Mediterranean. Plain yogurt and lemon juice make a tangy, low-fat sauce for this gemelli pasta dish that is delicious served hot or cold.

To make this recipe from chef Jamie Oliver, saute garlic, chiles, parsley, sliced squid, and peas, and toss gently with cooked linguine.

Combine tuna, anchovies, parsley, capers, and garlic -- traditional flavors from the south of France -- with half-and-half to create a creamy pasta sauce. Toss with penne to make a complete meal in less than 30 minutes.

Not your usual bowl of spaghetti, this quick pasta includes the mellow flavors of bacon, shrimp, and scallions. Chopped tomatoes are a great addition too.

Cream cheese, dill, and capers make a quick and easy sauce for farfalle pasta with red onion and smoked salmon. This recipe stretches a modest portion of salmon to feed four people.

Capers, lemon juice, and sauteed fennel imbue this tuna and pasta dish with fresh flavors. Ready in just 20 minutes, this recipe is great choice for when you need to get dinner on the table fast.

Lemony white-wine sauce is the perfect complement to sauteed shrimp. This light dinner for one is ready in just 20 minutes.

Toast minced garlic in olive oil to season the white wine for steaming clams. Boil spaghetti until just shy of al dente, then transfer it to the clam broth to finish cooking.

Toss cooked spaghetti with lemon zest, parsley, slivered Kalamata olives, and canned tuna for an easy but sophisticated dinner. Toasted whole-wheat breadcrumbs add delectable crunch to the dish.

Marinate cooked lobster meat, heirloom cherry tomatoes, capers, and basil in garlic-infused olive oil for two hours. Serve the mixture over rigatoni pasta, topped with rich, pepper-seasoned mascarpone cheese.

Not your typical tuna casserole, this one begins with an emulsified sauce made by pureeing onion, anchovies, artichoke hearts, capers, and Parmesan with olive oil. Stir tuna, lemon zest, parsley, and cooked macaroni into the sauce, and bake until bubbling and browned.

To make this Vietnamese-inspired dish, marinate shrimp in mint, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil for an hour, and then saute in a hot skillet. Mound the shrimp over cellophane noodles dressed with lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and Asian chile sauce.

Bottarga, salted, air-dried mullet or tuna roe, is a southern Italian specialty. Here, shaved bottarga is mixed with bucatini pasta, roasted garlic, and toasted breadcrumbs.

This simple recipe has only two main steps: boiling and tossing. Cook the pasta, shrimp, and vegetables in one pot. (Check the pasta package instructions to make sure you cook the other ingredients for the correct amount of time.)

Cracked black pepper and red-chile flakes give bite to a fragrant, briny clam broth. Pancetta and lemon zest balance out the heat in this hearty linguine supper.

This deluxe pasta salad combines sauteed tuna, caramelized onions, garlic, capers, and red-wine vinegar. Toss in bitter-edged frisee before serving at room temperature.