Linguini con Vongole e Cozze

Here is my finished product! I served it with a crusty garlic bread.

I LOVE seafood and lately I have been craving a savory pasta dish with clams and mussels. I had some in Italy and at other restaurants I have been to in the past year, and I loved it. I had never really had mussels or clams (besides clam chowder) in a dish until recently and now it is one of my favorite things. Steamed mussels with fresh, crusty bread to dip in the broth or clams with pasta, you name it, I like all of it!

So here is a seafood pasta dish from Emeril Lagasse with a little alterations. The nice thing about this dish is it is flexible and easy to alter, like most pasta dishes.

I found some good fresh mussels and clams at a nearby place. In fact ALL but one of them opened when I steamed them, which means all but that one are good to eat. You will normally have a few that don't open when you steam/cook them and that means you want to throw them out because it's probably bad shell. So whoever says you can't find good seafood when you are not by the sea, I must say you are wrong. Yes, living on the coast gives you better options but, you are not without options when you are landlocked:)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 2 pounds baby clams (littleneck if available), scrubbed
• 1 stick of butter, cut into tablespoons (I cut back on the butter by about half, but it probably would be better with all)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, in all
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pounds fresh angel hair pasta (I used linguini)
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

Bring a pot of salted water up to a boil. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and the garlic cloves. When the garlic starts to turn golden discard the cloves, about 2 minutes. Add the mussels and clams to the oil. Cover the pan and saute the seafood for about 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, or until the shells open. Remove the pan from the heat and discard any shells that did not open. Pour the seafood into a bowl and set aside. Place the saute pan back on the heat and melt the butter with the minced garlic, over medium-low heat, about 2 minutes. I also added some seafood (or chicken stock) to the pan for more liquid. I wanted more of a broth with my pasta. You can also thicken it a LITTLE, with a LITTLE cornstarch. Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook until the pasta is al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Sauteed mussels and clams with their liquid back into the pan. Saute for 1 minute. Remove the pasta from the water and drain. Place the pasta directly into the saute pan. Remove from the heat and toss the pasta with the mussels and clams. Season with salt and pepper. Mound the pasta in the center of an over-sized pasta bowl. Garnish with the grated cheese and chopped parsley.

Like I said, I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but this is basically the way to get this type of dish. Just play around with it:)