Chorizos a la Spaghetti Vongole
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti
4 medium-sized fresh ripe tomatoes
2 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 cup diced onion (1 small onion)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried chili peppers
2 6-inch partially dried chorizo sausages (1/2 lb.) sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 1/2 lbs. fresh clams
1/2 fresh lemon
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and white pepper to taste
Freshly chopped parsley
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Method:
In a large pot of boiling water, blanch and then peel the tomatoes. Dice them and set them aside.
Add a pinch of salt to the water and boil the spaghetti. In a 12-inch covered sauté pan on medium heat, add the olive oil, onions, and garlic. Season with the salt, thyme, basil, and chili peppers. Cook until lightly tender.
Wash the clams and discard any open ones.
Add the chorizo and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the clams and raise the heat to medium high. Squeeze the juice of the half lemon over the mixture and cover.
Shake the pan intermittently to stir while continuing to cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Stir together and cook covered for another 5-6 minutes until the clams have fully opened. Stir every 2 minutes.
Uncover and turn off the heat. Stir in the 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil and garnish with the freshly chopped parsley. Top the 4 portions of spaghetti with the mixture and add parmesan to taste.
Another original mouth-watering recipe from Kosta the Fishmonger ....
for you to savour!
Special Remarks:
Let's toss it together with some fresh clams and make a vongole. Manila clams are very plump and abundant at this time. This would be the best clam to use for this recipe.
When cooking clams, remove any that do not open. If they have opened slightly, pull them open by hand. Inspect the clam meat and make sure that it appears the same as the other opened clams.
Smell them to make sure there is no pungent or "off" odour to the meat. If the meat looks mushy or discoloured and smells strongly, discard it. Sometimes the clams can be full of sand so discard those as well.
Not all clams that haven't opened have gone bad. Place them aside and perform this inspection. When purchasing clams, make sure that they are closed tightly and that the other clams in the bunch are also closed tightly.
We welcome your feedback
or questions at kostaz@telus.net or do stop by the Salmon Shop or Screaming
Mimi’s Lonsdale Quay Market, North Vancouver.
.