Tag: clams

Crepe noodles with clams – Italian Cuisine

10 wines for … Spaghetti with clams – Italian Cuisine

Do you want to bring the taste of the sea to the table? We have spaghetti with clams, now let's think about wine!

The most popular summer dish is not only an icon of Neapolitan cuisine, it is a classic of many other sea regions. It is located in every restaurant and is very easy to cook at home. It is prepared with simple ingredients but with contrasting flavors: there is the sweetness of pasta, the flavor of clams, the oiliness of extra virgin olive oil and the aromatic notes of parsley, garlic, pepper or chilli. The classic recipe is in white, but there are those who also add some cherry tomatoes. What are the most suitable wines to combine? Definitely the still young whites, of medium structure and with delicate aromas of fruit and flowers. With the labels of Campania you play at home, but there are other wines very indicated. Here are our choices.

Amalfi Coast Ravello Selva delle Nuns 2018 Ettore Sammarco
If we had to choose just one wine to pair with spaghetti with clams, this would be it. The whites of the Amalfi Coast, with the aromas of fruit and yellow flowers, some notes of Mediterranean herbs and the right flavor, are the ideal companions. This, made from biancolella and falanghina grapes, is delicate and delicious.
14 euros.

Irpinia Falanghina Demetra 2017 Ancient Castle
Another regional combination, this time with the pure Falanghina grape: an immediate and versatile white which, thanks to its sapidity and balance, goes very well with pasta dishes with shells and shellfish.
15 euros.

Melissa Bianco Asylia 2018 Librandi
From Calabria, an easy, smooth and fragrant wine. Its sapid flavor, enlivened by light vegetal notes, meets the iodized character of clams and the aromatic notes of parsley. Serve it very cold.
7 euros.

Etna Bianco Mofete 2018 Palmento Costanzo
The volcano gives this white, based on carricante and catarratto grapes, aromas of ripe yellow fruit and flowers like broom; when tasted, it is saline and citrusy, with a smooth drink, without lacking in elegance.
15 euros

Verdicchio di Matelica Villa Marilla 2017 Marco Gatti
A wine that is at the same time pure and great, due to its ability to combine body and freshness, with pleasant aromas of white fruit and vegetal and balsamic notes reminiscent of wild fennel and anise.
10 euros

Maremma Toscana Vermentino Litorale 2018 Val delle Rose
A wine that already on its label, which depicts three colored deckchairs, talks about the sea and holidays. Generous in its fruit aromas, such as white peach and pineapple, it goes very well with spaghetti with clams, but also with a more elaborate pasta with seafood.
13 euros

Colli Bolognesi Pignoletto Superiore Zigant 2017 Lodi Corazza
It is characterized by intense aromas of ripe fruit and a slender sip this wine born in a very suitable area of the Bolognese hills. Despite the body, it maintains a beautiful freshness and great pleasure.
16 euros.

Prosecco Superiore di Valdobbiadene Campofalco Canevel
A bubble with spaghetti with clams, why not? The fruity and soft fragrance of a Prosecco Superiore creates a pleasant contrast with the marine flavor of the clams. We like the certified organic Campofalco di Canevel.
11.50 euros.

Franciacorta Satèn ’61 Guido Berlucchi
Pure Chardonnay and silky bubbles go well with the sweet taste of pasta and cleanse the mouth from the greasiness of the seasoning.
20 euro.

Riviera del Garda Classico Chiaretto San Donino 2018 Selva Capuzza
If the recipe calls for the addition of cherry tomatoes, it is well paired with a delicate, salty pink wine like those produced on Lake Garda. The Chiaretto di Selva Capuzza is very suitable, also due to its seductive citrus scents.
11 euros.

And you are looking for the perfect recipe … read below!

Seafood, not just mussels and clams – Italian Cuisine

on clams We have already told you how to choose them and buy them. The oysters, even the ecological and low-cost ones, we consider them a world apart. on mussels it is certainly worthwhile to say something more. And above all it is worth to know also the other local shells, exquisite fruits of our sea to be received and enjoyed with honor.

Let's start with the mussels, or muscles what to say. Of course there are only books to write about them. The recipes? Infinite (here the top ten). Here are just a few ideas: there are several breeding systems, but above all there are several 'Terroir'. For the mussels, really as for wine. Every land, or rather every sea, has its own nutrients and characteristic aromas, and all the mussels absorb them – even if, unlike the common belief, the "filters" of the sea are actually clams.

And speaking of clams: with le clams – or telline if you prefer – there are very few, even two different families! (with the exception of the Sardinian ones, which one type of clams actually are). The clam is larger and more rounded, with concentric grooves on the shell (unfortunately the prized and very tasty local clam has been almost completely supplanted by the Philippine one…). The cocklesinstead, they have shells more smooth and colorful and taste more delicate. That of the Roman coast, an exquisite ancient tradition, is protected by Slow Food, still harvested by raking the sandy beaches by hand on calm days.

The fasolari they have a shell that is a cross between that of the clam and that of the arsella. Their meat is very soft and the tasty taste. From the same family as the clams, unlike the latter, they are unable to completely purge the sand in water and salt, so it is necessary to open the shells by hand and rinse the mollusc (for how to clean them, see here). Excellent steamed or sautéed, they season pasta and risotto and are the protagonists of delicious recipes like the one that sees them seasoned with almond butter.

The razor clams they are those long cones, as its name implies. They live in the sand, they taste strong sea and are excellent for pasta, or au gratin or cooked on the grill. Rich in minerals and low in fat, here's a tip to prepare them: avoid prolonging too much cooking, they become hard and chewy.

The snails they are rare and are delicious bread for real sea wolves. After having purged them, the cap that closes them should be blown up the pan and the broth then filtered. They are eaten in sauce, fitted with toothpicks with which to draw the little snails out of their shell.

The sea truffle, from the meats lean, nutrients (proteins ad high biological value) and prized, has a taste intense and particular – especially when eaten raw, as is often preferred. In the first it goes well with pesto or a sauce based on aromatic herbs and white wine.

The scallops, also known as shells of St. James are the exquisite medallions locked up in spectacular shell fan-shaped. In addition to meat, the 'coral' is also delicious, as are their gonads. The adults in nature can also reach 15 cm in diameter; they move fast and see us very well! They do not stand out for their nutritional supply, but they are low-calorie and golosisime.

Aurora Quinto
September 2019

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