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Sunday, May 13, 2012
Spaghetti with clams (Spaghetti alle vongole)
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| Spaghetti With Clams |
Mother's Day Feast
My mother's day lunch menu was:Crispy fried chicken that I brinned overnight in the freezer (yes, we only have a chest type freezer and no fridge...)
Garlic Fried Rice
Tinolang halaan (clams)
and the star of the feast.......
Spaghetti alle vongole or Spaghetti with clams.
Being in Quezon City and living in a shoe string budget made me unable to make the dish really authentic. However, we are Filipinos and we adapt to what we have. So from this moment on, I apologize to all traditionalist, foodies, food critiques, and especially all Italians out there for "vandalizing" a really superb dish. Believe me, I want to make this in its truest form more than anything. For a more authentic recipe, please watch the video below. Of all the how-tos I've watch in YouTube, this was the one that appealed to me the most. (My tips and recipe follows below the video)
Preparation
So how would a work-at-home mom make this delicious dish with very little budget? Here are some ways for you to make it really special- Do not be lazy in purging your clams. I have spent literally hours and hours purging my clams (or halaan), and it was all worth it. The broth was cleaner, and the taste of the liquid and clams was just so bright and pure. No muddy, mossy, "malumot" taste. And most especially - no sand. You won't get that with just 3 hours of purging. How do I know? Because I did the 3-hour purge and I got a scummy, mossy, sandy dish. :((
- Use homemade no-sodium chicken stock. Yes, no-sodium. The clams will grab some salt from the purging liquid. Since you do not have wine, the next best thing will be your own home-made chicken stock that you made from chicken bones and trimmings. Don't get the cubed or powdered ones as they have too strong a flavor for the dish.
- And most importantly, use the freshest ingredients. Take out clams that are open, and also those that refuse to open after cooking. Never settle for garlic whose heads have opened, and onions with loose skin and a fermented musty smell.
- Cook the noodles 2-3 minutes short of the recommended time because you'll continue cooking it with the sauce later. This will help prevent the noodles from getting all soggy and mushy in the end.
- Also, Chef Pasquale used linguine in his recipe for a reason - so that the sauce will stick better to the noodles without overpowering the light sauce. But since I'm out of linguine and I had to cook all that food within one hour, I settled for angel hair pasta.
Recipe
Ingredients- 375 grams clams
- 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tbsp white onion minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Barely 1/4 cup of parsley
- 175 grams angel hair pasta, cooked in less than a minute
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
Now bear in mind that I was hard-pressed for time when I made this, so all the ingredients here are just "eyeballed" so to speak. I don't measure and I just wing it as I go along.
So, put your olive oil, butter, onions, and garlic in a small skillet before turning on the heat to medium. Yes, you put your aromatics in before you turn on the heat. We Filipinos prefer our garlic toasted and even black in some occasions, but this cold pan technique is how Italians do it for this dish. The purpose here is that the slow introduction of the heat will help infuse the oil with that wonderful onion and garlic smell even better than if you start with a hot oil.
Once you smell all that mouth-watering aroma, add in your clams and saute for 10-20 seconds at best just to distribute the heat evenly.
Afterwards, add in your chicken stock. Crank up the heat to medium high and cover the pan with a secure lid to keep the broth from evaporating. The trapped steam will also help cook the clams evenly and swiftly. The faster the clams open, the better you will preserve the size and soft texture of your clams.
If you can, skim the top of the broth to remove the scum for a more cleaner, brighter broth. However, since I purged my clams and rinsed them really well, I had very few scum to deal with.
Keep the lid covered for about 3-4 minutes, then add in your pasta. Stir and cook in the noodles until it is cooked but still al dente. Toss in the parsley, and serve.
So, there you have it! A simple, yet very delicious dish that really shows off the great flavors of fresh, in-season seafood. All you have to do is sit down, savor the sight and smell of delicious food made even more special by the company of your loved ones - and dig in.
What's the joy of cooking if you cannot share it with others, right? If you want to know how I purged the clams, ping me in Google+ or read my blog post How to Purge Clams I'll let you know. ;)
For more great Italian recipes, please visit Chef Pasquale on OrsaraRecipes.com, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and Reddit
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