Tagliatelle with mixed seafood, garlic and white wine
SERVES 4
Ingredients
• 250g live mussels
• 250g live clams
• 100ml dry white wine
• 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50g salted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 large langoustines
• 8 large unpeeled raw prawns
• 4tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
• 350g dried tagliatelle pasta
• 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
• Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, plus lemon
wedges to serve
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
Pour four litres of water into a large saucepan, add one tablespoon salt and bring to the boil.
Scrub the mussels and clams under cold running water. Rinse away the grit and remove any barnacles with a small, sharp knife. Remove the ‘beards’ from the mussels by pulling the dark, stringy pieces away from the shells. Drop the clams from a height into a large bowl a few times, to help them expel their sand, then wash briefly in cold water for a couple of minutes. Check none of the clams are open or broken, and, if they are, discard them. Discard any open mussels or clams that do not shut when tapped firmly on the sink, or any which have broken shells.
Place the mussels and clams in a medium saucepan, pour in the wine and cook with the lid on over a medium heat for five minutes. Tip into a colander set over a bowl, so you can save the juices, discard any that remain closed and set aside.
Put the olive oil and butter into a large frying pan and melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the garlic and gently fry until it begins to sizzle. Pour in the cooking juices from the mussels and clams – leaving behind the very last of the juices which might contain grit – and simmer for two minutes. Season with three-quarters of a teaspoon salt and half a teaspoon of pepper and stir occasionally.
Now stir in the langoustines and prawns and fry them for one and a half minutes. Using tongs, turn them over and continue to cook for a further one and a half minutes until they all turn pink all over. Add the mussels and clams with the parsley and stir until heated through, about two minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling