Over Abundance of Riches - Printable Version +- Cuisine at home Forums (https://forums.cuisineathome.com) +-- Thread: Over Abundance of Riches (/showthread.php?tid=123369)

Over Abundance of Riches - cjs - 06-21-2011 Believe it or not, I am tired of all this wonderful seafood!! Have to tell Teri, No More (for a while!). Second bucketful in two weeks and I don't want to put anything in the freezers yet!! Last night's was really good tho and thought some of you might want to try it. It could be made with canned clams also, but it was so simple and tasty. It's a Nigella Lawson recipe - I just love the way she writes a recipe. Spaghetti Alle Vongole – Nigella Lawson 4 cups small clams 10 oz. spaghetti 2 cloves garlic 1/4 cup olive oil 3/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes 2/3 cup white wine or Noilly Prat 3 T. chopped parsley Put the clams to soak in a sinkful of cold water, while you heat the water for the pasta. When the water comes to the boil, add salt and then the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti until nearly but not quite ready: you're going to give it a fractional amount more cooking with the clams and their winey juices so you need to leave room for absorption. Try and time this so that the pasta's ready at the time you want to plunge it into the clams. Otherwise drain and douse with a few drops of olive oil. Mince, grate or finely slice the garlic and, in a pan with a lid into which you can fit the pasta later, fry it gently (it mustn't burn) in the olive oil and then crumble in the red chili pepper flakes. Drain the clams, discarding those that remain open, and add the closed ones to the garlic pan. Pour over the wine or vermouth and cover. In 2 minutes, the clams should be open. Add the pasta, put the lid on again and swirl about. In another minute or so everything should have finished cooking and come together: the pasta will have cooked to the requisite tough tenderness and absorbed the salty, garlicky, winey clam juices, and be bound in a wonderful sea-syrup. But if the pasta needs more cooking, clamp on the lid and give it more time. Chuck out any clams that have failed to open. Add half the parsley, shake the pan to distribute evenly, and turn into a plate bowl and sprinkle over the rest of the parsley. Cheese is not grated over any pasta with fish in it in Italy (nor indeed where garlic is the predominant ingredient, either) and the rule holds good. You need add nothing. It's perfect as it is. If perfection can be improved upon, however, the thing that will do it is a glass of icy cold and flinty white wine or an almost-freezing beer to be drunk alongside. Six dishes of clams and oysters (plus leftovers from yesterday) in two weeks is just too much rich food for me. P.S. - Just remembered I wanted to mention that my parsley plant has suffered from over cutting during this marathon with seafood, and I read recently about using carrot tops in a pasta dish and wanted to try that. So, I subbed carrot tops for the parsley in the above dish - nice flavor. I went ahead and grated up the little carrots and added with the garlic at the beginning. I'm anxious to try the tops in other recipes, too. Re: Over Abundance of Riches - Harborwitch - 06-21-2011 That pasta sounds so good. Wish we'd been there for that one! I'll have to find some fresh clams. Nephew Jeff and his darling wife Kim have offered to bring us some oysters when the come over for the 4th - I think we'll take them up on it and Q some for them. mmmmmmmmmmmm. But that pasta oh my, I'm just riveted to that. Re: Over Abundance of Riches - Gourmet_Mom - 06-21-2011 Oh my! What a yummy looking dish! I may have to modify my treat list! Copied and saved for the near future, Jean! Re: Over Abundance of Riches - DFen911 - 06-21-2011 Omg that looks soooo good!! If you get mussels don't tell me I'll cry Re: Over Abundance of Riches - cjs - 06-21-2011 I have...... no, don't tell. (I'm kidding - they didn't bring any mussels.) Re: Over Abundance of Riches - Mare749 - 06-21-2011 That looks delicious, Jean. Although I like clams, mussels are even better! Do you know what type of clam you used? They look smaller than what we get here and are probably more tender. Re: Over Abundance of Riches - Gourmet_Mom - 06-21-2011 Looks like the little neck ones I'm hoping to score tomorrow. Re: Over Abundance of Riches - cjs - 06-21-2011 I don't remember the proper name, we just call them little steamers. So good!!! Re: Over Abundance of Riches - Mare749 - 06-24-2011 Wouldn't you know...the same day that I asked that question, Jean, I went to the grocery store and what do you think was the first item I saw at the seafood counter??? Yep, Little Neck Clams! Duh!