“Clams and mussels with pasta is one of the staple pasta dishes along the southern coast of Italy! Perhaps the absolutely best I ever had was in Bisceglie (Apulia)..
In this adaptation we use some fresh herbs and a clam broth to enhance the flavors of the shellfish for additional flavor! The herbs chosen can be adjusted to your taste or, simply garlic and shallots can be used.”
“Fresh herbs enhance the flavors of the shellfish.”
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil
4 shallots, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
One bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
Two sprigs of rosemary
Small bunch of basil, roughly chopped
Several sprigs of fresh thyme and/or oregano
Hot pepper flakes to taste
2 bay leaves
1 ½ cups of bottled of clam broth
2/3 cup of dry white wine (do not use sauvignon blanc)
18 small (little neck) clams
1 pound of mussels (Prince Edward Island suggested)
1 pound of linguine
Preparation:
Rinse the clams in a colander and scrub them if necessary. Place in a pot or large bowl filled with salted water. Let them sit undisturbed for 30 minutes. Then carefully lift them out of the water, leaving any grit behind and put them back into the colander and rinse them off. Discard the soaking water and rinse out the container to remove any grit. Refill it again with salted water and put the clams back in to soak 10-5 minutes more. Lift them out and rinse again. Meanwhile prep the other ingredients.
Carefully examine the mussels and discard any that are open but do not close up when pinched. Remove any other debris and ‘beards’. Rinse and hold until use.
Divide all of your herbs in half.
In a skillet or sauté pan, with a tight fitting cover, that is large enough to hold all of the shellfish, heat the olive oil over medium low heat . Add the shallots and garlic and sauté so that they soften and become fragrant but be careful not to brown them.
Add the bay leaves, hot pepper flakes and half of the herbs and saute gently for about 1 minute. Add the wine and when it begins to boil add the rest of the herbs and let the wine reduce down a little over medium heat, 1-2 minutes.
Add the clam broth and simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and discard.
Turn the heat up to high, add all of the shellfish and cover the pan. Do not remove the lid for at least 5 minutes, then check to see if they all have opened. When all are open turn off the heat and keep the pan covered.
Cook the pasta in salted water until ‘al dente’.
When the pasta is 2 minutes from being ready, remove the shellfish to another pan or bowl with a slotted spoon. Then when the pasta is done add it to the sauce and let it cook in the sauce for a minute.
Pour the shellfish and juices back into the pan and turn off the heat. Let stand for another minute then serve immediately. Additional chopped parsley can be used to garnish each plate.