La buona Tavola/The Art of Cooking

First of all, I would like to thank my readers, Leslie and an anonymous who left me a message few weeks ago to let me know that they tried the orange & beet salad and liked it very much.

Now I feel good, I have asked my self if anybody was reading my recipes. Apparently you do and I appreciate it very much.

Spaghetti ai frutti di mare/Spaghetti with seafood



When I was kid, before the time we used to spend our summer vacation on the island of Ischia, my family did not own a minivan or SUV, cars did not have seatbelts and people did not wear helmets when driving a motor bike. Safety was not a concern in those days. My father owned only a vespa and in the summer time when we went to the beach, we go there on the vespa.
My oldest brother, Gabriele would stand front of my father and hold onto the handlebars with his legs, he also held a large bag with a change of clothes inside for each of us. I would sit behind my father, holding onto him. Behind me was my mother holding a bag in each hand. We used to spend the entire day at the beach. I loved to go under the water and looking for fresh clams and mussels. At that time there was no problem with pollution, so we used to eat shellfish row, just with a splash of lemon. In the evening we would get changed and eat dinner at a local restaurant sitting outside on the patio. Our view was the beautiful bay of Naples. In the dining room there were “I posteggiatori” a duo singing Neapolitan songs, with guitar and mandolin, walking around the tables. One night while we were eating spaghetti with seafood, my father said: This is the perfect scenario. A beautiful night with people that I love, we can hear the noise of the sea, smell of the sea and in the background romantic music. Now close your eyes, imagine yourself eating the same dish in a noisy restaurant somewhere in the country side, mountain views and snow, no Neapolitan music but German music. No smell or sounds of the sea. Do you think this dish would taste the same?


Ingredienti (per 4 persone):
600 gr. Or 1 &1/4 pound seafood (mussels, clams),
200 gr. Or half pound of prawns,
Half cup of fresh chopped parsley,
2 gloves of garlic
2 ripe fresh tomatoes,
3 table spoons of olive oil
1 pound of spaghetti
1/2 glass of white wine
Salt & fresh ground pepper.

Method:
First Scrub the mussels and claims, clean and remove the shells from the prawns. Pour the olive oil into a large pan, make sure the flame is moderate, add the garlic. When the color becomes brown add the clams and mussels and the white wine and cover. Wait until the shells open, 5 or so minutes. If any do not open, it means that there is sand inside, discard them. Meanwhile add the prawns, the fresh tomatoes and parsley and let them cook for approx. 7 to 10 minutes,
Did we forget about the pasta? I guess so. Fill up a large tall pan with water, add salt, I suggest you to use sea salt. When the water is boiling add the pasta. About 10 minutes later, when it is al dente, drain and mixed it with the sauce.


A nice bottle of Orvieto (Italian white wine) would be perfect to drink with this dish. If you are on a date and not at the beach, you may want to consider to play some music with ocean sounds as background.

Buon appetito