Post by Calaf on Feb 8, 2012 0:01:11 GMT
Spaghetti alle Vongole bianco
One for the gents to cook for their ladies. If there is such a thing as L'Elisir d'Amore then this is it.
You will need, for a light meal
-- 2 pans (one to boil spaghetti, one to cook the vongole)
-- 250g dry spaghetti (perhaps more if you prefer)
-- 500g Vongole (aka palourdes, carpet clams, surf clams)
-- Olive Oil
-- 2-4 fat cloves of Garlic (more if you use the pathetic supermarket variety)
-- 125ml White Wine (a simple Pinot Grigio from Veneto would be perfect)
-- Black pepper
-- Half a de-seeded red chilli
-- Optional parsley
-- Optional squeeze of lemon
-- Optional chunk of bread
-- Verdi
I sometimes substitute the white wine with a Manzanilla or Fino. Don't add too much chilli (I'm a chilli-head, but not with vongole.) Waitrose have excellent garlic at the moment, big fat purple cloved, well worth the extra cost. Use the bread to soak up the juices at the end of the meal. But be warned, this is a knicker-wetting dish.
Procedure
-- Purge the Vongole in salt-water for a few hours
-- Cook up the sketti al dente
-- Chop the garlic and chilli and gently fry in olive oil to soften
-- Add the drained clams
-- Pour in some white wine, taking a Floydian gulp for yourself
-- When your Vongole have opened discard the duds
-- Add the sketti, toss in and turn off the heat
-- Add a grinding of black pepper and drizzle with olive oil
Under no circumstances should you add parmesan. Ever. Or listen to Marvin Gaye.
You may be familiar with the Rosso version of this with a pasata, common in restaurants. It's a little more robust and can handle the addition of mussels, calamari and prawns. But for purists, bianco is the dish you would serve Helen, Blanchefleur or Venus Generoso herself on your first date.
Good luck
One for the gents to cook for their ladies. If there is such a thing as L'Elisir d'Amore then this is it.
You will need, for a light meal
-- 2 pans (one to boil spaghetti, one to cook the vongole)
-- 250g dry spaghetti (perhaps more if you prefer)
-- 500g Vongole (aka palourdes, carpet clams, surf clams)
-- Olive Oil
-- 2-4 fat cloves of Garlic (more if you use the pathetic supermarket variety)
-- 125ml White Wine (a simple Pinot Grigio from Veneto would be perfect)
-- Black pepper
-- Half a de-seeded red chilli
-- Optional parsley
-- Optional squeeze of lemon
-- Optional chunk of bread
-- Verdi
I sometimes substitute the white wine with a Manzanilla or Fino. Don't add too much chilli (I'm a chilli-head, but not with vongole.) Waitrose have excellent garlic at the moment, big fat purple cloved, well worth the extra cost. Use the bread to soak up the juices at the end of the meal. But be warned, this is a knicker-wetting dish.
Procedure
-- Purge the Vongole in salt-water for a few hours
-- Cook up the sketti al dente
-- Chop the garlic and chilli and gently fry in olive oil to soften
-- Add the drained clams
-- Pour in some white wine, taking a Floydian gulp for yourself
-- When your Vongole have opened discard the duds
-- Add the sketti, toss in and turn off the heat
-- Add a grinding of black pepper and drizzle with olive oil
Under no circumstances should you add parmesan. Ever. Or listen to Marvin Gaye.
You may be familiar with the Rosso version of this with a pasata, common in restaurants. It's a little more robust and can handle the addition of mussels, calamari and prawns. But for purists, bianco is the dish you would serve Helen, Blanchefleur or Venus Generoso herself on your first date.
Good luck
