Recipe: Spaghetti with mussels and clams

Michael's Back Door's spaghetti with mussels and clams (cozze e vongole, in Italian) has been a long-time favourite of many customers as well as several family members!

Ingredients:

1 glass of dry white wine

1 lb fresh mussels

1 lb fresh littleneck clams

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 cloves minced garlic

fresh ground white pepper to taste

2 fresh green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

250g of spaghetti, cooked al dente

Instructions:

In a large frying pan heat olive oil. Add green onion. Sauté for a few minutes then add garlic. Cook for just a few seconds then add clams, mussels, wine, pepper and parsley (keep some parsley aside for garnish.) Cover with a lid and cook until all the clams and mussels are open, there is no need to add any liquid, the mussels and clams will produce enough of their own liquid that will eventually become the sauce. If needed, add some wine or pasta water. Add the spaghetti cooked al dente (saving some pasta cooking water) and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter and mix well until the sauce becomes creamy. Add some of the pasta cooking water you saved if it becomes too dry. Remove from heat, add basil, fresh ground pepper and the remaining parsley.

Chef's hint: Add a little salt to the pasta cooking water before you throw the pasta in. No salt is required for the sauce, the fluid produced from the mussels and clams tends to be salty enough.

Serves 4...or 1 Italian

Enjoy!