SEAFOOD PASTA

Serves 4-6 PREP TIME: Plus cooking time, 30 minutes (+ standing time) 500g baby clams (vongole) 1L (4 cups) water 1 tbsp coarse sea salt 500g uncooked king prawns 2 small (600g) calamari half a bunch fresh flatleaf parsley 400g spaghetti (or other long pasta) • ½ cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil • 4 large cloves garlic,

chopped finely • 1 fresh small red chilli, chopped

finely • lemon wedges and garlic bread,

to serve

1. Rinse and drain the clams. Combine the water and salt in a large bowl. Add the clams and leave to stand at cool room temperature for 2-3 hours. Don’t refrigerate them, or they’ll close up and won’t purge the sand. Lift the clams out of the water, leaving the sand in the base of the bowl. Discard the water.

2. Shell and devein the prawns. Butterfly the prawns by cutting along the back without cutting all the way through.

3. Gently separate the body and tentacles of the calamari by pulling on the tentacles. Cut the head from the tentacles just below eyes; discard the head. Trim the long tentacle of each calamari. Remove the clear quill from inside the body, and discard. Peel side flaps from body, then peel away the dark skin. Wash the calamari well; pat dry with paper towel. Slice crossways into thin rings.

4. Separate parsley leaves from stems. Chop the leaves coarsely and the stems finely.

5. Cook spaghetti in a large saucepan of salted boiling water till al dente.

6. Meanwhile, over high heat, heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large lidded frying pan; cook the prawns and calamari in batches until just cooked through. Remove from pan.

7. Add remaining oil, garlic, chilli and chopped stems to pan; cook over medium-high heat for 1 min or until fragrant but not coloured. Increase heat to high and add the clams. Cook, covered, for about 1-2 min (shaking the pan frequently) until all the clams have opened.

8. Reserve ½ cup (125ml) of the spaghetti cooking water, and drain the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti, prawns, calamari and parsley leaves to the pan with the clams; toss well to combine, adding enough reserved pasta water to loosen the spaghetti if necessary.

9. Serve with lemon wedges and garlic bread, if desired. NOT SUITABLE FOR FREEZING OR MICROWAVING