My good friend Melvin had loved Spaghetti V.G.P. at a restaurant in Sicily, and instructed we make put together this. Pasta with vongole, gamberi (shrimp) and pistachios is kind of frequent in Sicilian eating places; it makes use of native elements and is a good taste mixture. All we needed to go by was his reminiscence and the outline on the restaurant menu: “Vongole veraci e gambero rosa locale sfumati al vino bianco e leggermente colorati con salsa di pomodori e granella di pistacchio”, which interprets to “Vongole veraci [clams] and native pink shrimp, deglazed with white wine and evenly coloured with tomato sauce and floor pistachios”. In fact we used the flavour from the shrimp shells and the liquid from the vongole to make the sauce, and toasted the pistachios to enhance their taste. As a result of it was alleged to be solely evenly coloured with tomato sauce, I made a decision to make use of contemporary tomatoes and solely a small quantity. The ensuing dish was scrumptious.
Elements
Serves 4
- 320 grams (.7 lbs) spaghetti
- 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) vongole (I used native cockles)
- 450 grams (1 lb) giant shrimp with heads and shells
- 40 grams peeled pistachios
- 160 ml (2/3 cup) dry white wine, divided
- 1 garlic clove
- further virgin olive oil
- 300 grams (.66 lb) ripe plum tomatoes
- salt and freshly floor black pepper
Directions
Combine 1 litre (1 quart) of water with 30 grams (4 tsp) of salt. Then add the clams, and permit them to purge themselves for an hour or so.
Peel and devein the shrimp. Season the shrimp meat with salt, place in a bowl, cowl, and reserve within the fridge. Warmth 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot through which the shrimp heads and shells match snugly, add the shrimp heads and shells, and stir over medium-high warmth till the heads and shells are orange.
Then cowl with water, cowl the pan, and simmer gently for 20 minutes to make shrimp inventory.
When the shrimp inventory is completed, pressure it by means of a sieve, urgent down on the shrimp heads to get all of the liquid out. Discard the shrimp shells. (Should you like you’ll be able to reserve some shrimp heads for adornment.)
Convey the shrimp inventory to a boil and scale back to about half.
Whereas the shrimp inventory is simmering, peel the tomatoes and take away the seeds. The method for peeling the tomatoes is described in this publish. Puree the tomatoes with a blender or meals processor.
Toast the pistachios in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes at 180C/350F. Attempt to rub off as a lot of the pores and skin as doable, then place them in a meals processor…
…and course of till the pistachios are coarsely floor.
Drain the clams and submerge them in chilly water with out salt. Test if all of the clams are closed, and discard any that aren’t. Drain the clams once more and place them in a pan with 80 ml (1/3 cup) of dry white wine. Cowl the pan, and put it over excessive warmth till the clams have opened. Flip off the warmth as quickly because the clams have opened.
Pressure the clams, reserving the liquid they’ve launched. Take many of the meat out of the clams, however go away some entire for adornment.
Convey a big pot of water to a boil. Calmly salt the water, add the spaghetti, and set the timer for two minutes lower than the time indicated on the bundle.
Within the meantime, warmth 3 tablespoons olive oil in a big frying pan. Slice the garlic thickly, and stir the garlic within the oil till the garlic is golden brown (tilt the pan to ‘deep fry’ the garlic and make this occur extra shortly). Discard the garlic.
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels, and add it to the frying pan with garlic-infused olive oil.
Very briefly fry the shrimp over very excessive warmth, and take the shrimp out of the pan with a strainer as quickly as it’s coloured on each side. Place the shrimp on a plate, and slice it as quickly because it has cooled off sufficiently so that you can deal with it. (Within the photograph you’ll be able to see I had already sliced the shrimp earlier than pan frying it, however it’s really simpler to sear the shrimp earlier than slicing it, as you should have much less turning to do.)
Deglaze the pan with the remaining 80 ml (1/3 cup) white wine.
Add the pureed tomatoes, and stir to include them.
Add the liquid from the clams (being cautious to go away any sand behind)…
…and the shrimp inventory.
Permit the liquid to cut back over medium-high warmth.
When the timer beeps, drain the spaghetti, and add it to the pan with the sauce.
There’s a little bit of timing and warmth administration concerned right here, as there needs to be sufficient liquid left to complete cooking the spaghetti for 1-2 minutes within the sauce, however not a lot liquid that it’s nonetheless too soupy by the point the spaghetti is cooked. Use low warmth should you suppose it could develop into too dry earlier than the spaghetti is completed, or excessive warmth should you suppose there may be an excessive amount of liquid.
Add the shrimp and clam meat for the final 1 minute of cooking to allow them to reheat.
Flip off the warmth, and add about half of the bottom pistachios. Stir to combine.
Serve without delay on preheated plates, adorned with clams and sprinkled with the remaining floor pistachios. End with a drizzle of the most effective further virgin olive oil you may have, and a few freshly floor black pepper.
Wine pairing
That is nice with a Vermentino, Verdicchio, or Fiano.
