08.06.15

linguine scoglio

I can’t believe it is over a year ago that Nick and I were in Positano, climbing up endless hillsides and steps, swimming in the sea and eating the most outrageously delicious seafood and pasta – sometimes both together. I feel confident that neither of my darling sons will read this, so will share a little secret with you. If I could do anything in the world for my 50th birthday (2 1/2 years and counting) it would be to take them and their partners for a holiday to this magical spot. I loved all of Italy – the art and history of Rome, the beauty of Tuscany and Umbria, the magic of Venice, the tangled maze of Florence – and always, everywhere the food – but my favourite spot of all was the Amalfi coast. Tanned, laughing young men scooting past on vespas, sunshine, sea air, lemons and vegetable gardens, bobbing boats and fishermen. Heaven. I would like to share a little of that experience with you through food here – this Scoglio pasta tastes of the sea with clams, mussels, prawns and squid, a little heat from the chilli, acidity from the wine, richness from the tomato and grunt from the garlic. Eat in the company of good friends with wine, abandon and plenty of fresh bread to mop up the juices! This is a recipe I originally prepared for the beautiful Dish magazine for their special Italian issue 🙂

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
¼-1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1/4 cup white wine
600g clams
600g mussels, de-bearded and well scrubbed
250g squid, cut into tentacles and rings
12 raw king prawns – unpeeled
500g linguine spaghetti
½ cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Cook pasta in well salted boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water. Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy based pot and cook 3 cloves of garlic and chilli over a medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add wine, clams and mussels, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes until all shellfish are open – if any don’t open during this time, discard them. Remove from the heat. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frypan and fry remaining garlic for 1 minute. Add prawns and cook 3-4 minutes until prawns are pink, then add squid and cook together a further 2-3 minutes. Add the the tomatoes, tomato paste, clams and mussels with cooking liquid and 2 tablespoons reserved pasta water and toss together over the heat for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat, stir through parsley and serve with sea salt and a good grinding of black pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some crusty bread. Buon appetito!!!
Serves 6

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