Nope, I haven’t set foot in Campania just yet. Perhaps I might grab some tickets during some “Air fair”. This week, we’ve got Spaghetti alle vongole or Spaghetti and Clams. Vongole is also a type of pasta in the shape of…bingo! Clams 🙂 When I was a toddler, my parents and siblings used to go out to Port Dickson to collect some clams. A colloquial word for these clams are usually called “LaLa”, but the ones they picked up back then were usually textile venus clams. Due to over-harvesting and little/no regulation, these critters are scarce these days, sad but fact which is exactly why most seafood restaurants introduce the hard shell clam. Probably the next species to be devastated by unregulated exploits. Anyways, here’s what we did:-
Rise early in the morning, and start diggin! Get a mate, and doggy mate for extra clam detection action!
Half and hour later, we’ve got ourselves a small pot of fresh NZ Cockles. NOTE: The crabs just happen to be there as they were in the way, we released them back to the waters. 🙂
These Cockles are alive, but they would require vigorous scrubbing and cleaning before it could be used as a ingredient. I soaked them in some salt water for an hour or two. The salt irregularity will irritate the cockles, and they would start spitting out sand and excrete whatever slime they have. Its pretty much cleaning itself for us.
Here are the highlighted ingredients that you’ll need. Some cherry toms, fresh chilli (extra note in next pic), and some garlic.
About the chilli, there are many varieties of chilli, but big chillies are usually mild on the inside. Most of the “spiciness” comes from the seeds which carries an active compound known as capsaicin. Capsaicin is the source of burning sensation that some enjoy or absolutely hate.
A summary of raw ingredients. We’ve also got some Italian parsley which is used to freshen up the dish’s already fresh as ingredients. Haha!
After an hour or two, pour out the slimy salt water. Give the cockles a bit of a rinse, leave it to dry. And there you have it, a well prepped cockle ready for use!
Start off by sauteing the aromatics and spices in olive oil. If you don’t like olive oil, don’t use it. Just don’t use palm cooking oil, it would be injustice to the cockles.
While the aromats are being sauteed, boil yourself some pasta in simmering salted water. Al-dente or not, its preferential! I like my noodles chewy but not al-dente…
Once sauteed, add the cherry toms and clams in PLUS some drinkable white wine.
We happened to have some mini bottles lying in the fridge. Why not? 🙂 Incorporating wine with food isn’t for everyone, so I would recommend substitutes like vegetable stock. I wouldn’t imagine adding “meat” stock to a seafood dish though, so keep that in mind. Respect the cockles!
Pour half of it, and enjoy half of it. Makes me happier.
Bring it to a simmer until the shells open up! A good indication of done-ness. If it doesn’t open up, chances are, it has departed. In this case, we’ve collected them from the coast ourselves, so freshness is guaranteed! The dish is naturally salty, but feel free to add some salt and pepper to the dish.
Serve it on a plate and NOMz AWAY!
I must say, I have a strange affection for tomatoes. Juicy, Attractive.
The Banker Cooks! 