Pasta Con Le Vongole (Pasta with Clams)
Vongole are common in the Adriatic and are harvested throughout the year. This recipe features the signature flavour of Venice – garlic, parsley and olive oil – no tomato sauce. And remember that with seafood, you don’t add parmesan.
Serves 6
Preparation time 30 minutes; cooking time 20 minutes; soaking time 2-4 hours
• 500g spaghetti
• 1kg vongole veraci (caparossoli or other grooved clams)
• coarse salt
• 80ml olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 125ml white wine
• ½ a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• chopped chilli (optional)
Wash the clams thoroughly under running water. Soak them for 2-4 hours in water with the coarse salt so they disgorge their sand. Discard any clams that are already open.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a deep frying pan on high heat with 2 half-cloves of garlic. Add the clams and wine and cover the pan. After 2 minutes, shake the pan frequently so the heat is well distributed.
As soon as the clams open, stir in half the parsley and pour them into a colander, reserving the juices. Discard any clams that haven’t opened. Strain the cooking juices through a very fine sieve (or a lightweight fabric) to remove any residual sand and set aside. Shell half the clams and keep warm.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add salt and cook the spaghetti until almost al dente.
Meanwhile, rinse out the frying pan and heat the remaining garlic in the remaining oil. Add the cooking juices from the clams and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti to the pan and finish cooking the pasta in the clam juices, stirring on high heat.
A minute before serving, add the shelled and unshelled clams. Remove the garlic. Serve hot with freshly ground pepper, the rest of the parsley and a little chopped chilli, if you like.
Tips
It’s important not to overcook molluscs, or they become rubbery. Don’t add salt because the liquid from the clams is already salty.
Polpette (meatballs)
In Venice, don’t miss the polpette fritte (deep-fried meatballs) from the bàcaro-trattoria Cà d’Oro/Alla Vedova, located in a little alleyway off the Strada Nuova, near the Cà d’Oro Palace. I took inspiration from it and give you a pan-fried version.
Serves 6
Preparation time 30 minutes; cooking time 10 minutes; resting time 1 hour
• 80g sandwich bread, crust removed
• 100ml milk
• 2 shallots
• 10g butter
• olive oil
• 500g minced beef (15% fat)
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 50g parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 egg
• plain (all-purpose) flour, for dusting
Soak the bread in the milk before mashing it with a fork. Peel and chop the shallots and sauté them in the butter and a little olive oil, then cool.
Combine the minced beef, bread, cooked shallots, parsley and parmesan in a mixing bowl, then add the egg, salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into balls the size of a large walnut in the palm of your hands. Dip them in the flour, place them on a dish, cover with plastic wrap and let them firm up in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Brown the meatballs in a little oil in a nonstick frying pan on medium heat, then reduce heat and cook them gently for 10 minutes, turning regularly. Serve with toothpicks.
Variations
In a deep-fryer or large heavy-based saucepan, heat some oil to 180°C, or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns golden brown in 15 seconds. Dip the meatballs successively in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs to coat completely, and deep-fry them in the oil. Brown them on all sides then drain on paper towels. Let them cool a little before serving. Instead of bread, mash 1- 2 boiled potatoes. Once they have cooled, mix them with the minced beef. You can also use minced cooked beef and mix it with a little chopped mortadella and an egg. If the mixture is too soft, add some flour or breadcrumbs.
Zonchiada (Ricotta Tarts)
A classic sweet whose origins date back to the Middle Ages. Zonchiada takes its name from giuncata, a ricotta-style cheese.
Serves 6–8 (or 1 dozen tarts)
Preparation time 40 minutes; resting time 1 hour (or overnight); cooking time 40 minutes - 1 hour
• 50g raisins
• 185ml dry Marsala or rum
• 500g ricotta cheese
• 2 organic eggs
• 100g organic raw (demerara) sugar
• 40g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing tins
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• grated zest of 1 organic lemon
• 50g candied citron, diced
Shortcrust Pastry
• 250g organic plain (all-purpose) flour
• 120g butter, softened and cut into small pieces
• 2 organic egg yolks
• 80g organic raw (demerara) sugar
• 2 pinches of ground cinnamon
• 2-3 tbsp dry Marsala or water
To make the pastry: Sift the flour onto your work surface and, using your fingertips, rub in the butter to make a coarse, crumbly mixture. Make a well in the mixture and add the egg yolks, then the sugar, a pinch of salt, the cinnamon and Marsala or water. Combine all the ingredients using your fingertips and bring the dough together without working it too much.
Form a ball and flatten it to 3 cm, wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (you can also make it the day before).
Work the pastry again for 30 seconds when you take it out to soften it and then roll it out on a floured work surface.
Line a tray of buttered and floured tartlet moulds (or a 22-24 cm spring-form cake tin) with the pastry, prick the bases with a fork and set aside for 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the raisins and Marsala in a bowl and set aside for 20 minutes. Mix the ricotta with a spatula until smooth.
Incorporate the eggs, sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, lemon zest, citron, raisins and Marsala. Pour this mixture into the pastry case(s).
Using your fingers, push down the edges of the pastry to the level of the filling. Cook in a hot oven for about 40 minutes for individual tartlets or 1 hour for a large tin. l
An edited extract from Venice Cult Recipes (mini), by Laura Zavan (Murdoch Books, RRP $32.99).
