SPAGHETTI MARINARA

Today I made some spaghetti marinara style. It is an adapted recipe from a very good Italian cookbook - all the recipes I have tried so far are fantastic - and this one was easy to make and also incredibly good. Last Saturday we found small fresh squid tubes in a store nearby, and I bought 2 kilos because we haven't been able to find any for quite a few years ... They were very tender and with the rich tomato sauce, they were scrumptious 😋😋. I grilled the fish until it was almost cooked, and then I added it to the sauce just to reheat it and finish cooking. It's super easy to make and is confort food at its best 🥰.

Ingredients

300 ml dry white wine
pinch of saffron threads
1/2 kg clams (pippies)
800 g small squid tubes
300 g  prawns 

2 fillets white fish
400 ml tomato passata
400 g spaghetti
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tsp chilli jam
lemon wedges

Method

Clean the clams by scrubbing them thoroughly and scraping off any barnacles. Rinse well under running water and discard any that are broken or open and don't close when tapped on the work surface. Place them in a large saucepan with 200 ml  wine. Cover the pan and cook over high heat for 1-2 minutes, or until they open (discard any that stay closed after that time). Drain, reserving the liquid & add the saffron to the liquid. Remove the clams from their shells and put in a big bowl.

Clean the squid by pulling out the innards. Cut out the legs and rinse. Peel and devein the prawns.

Put a bit of oil on a non-stick frypan. Add the squid tubes and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, depending on size. Transfer to the bowl with clams and cut into thick slices.

In the same pan, add a bit more of oil and cook the prawns until almost cooked. Transfer to the bowl. 

Add a bit more of oil if necessary to the pan and cook the fish fillets. Transfer to the bowl.

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.

Meanwhile, add a little wine to the frying pan and deglaze. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds and then add the tomato and the chilli jam. Stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes.

Pour in the wine and the reserved saffron infused clam liquid. Season and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until reduced by half. 

Add the fish from the bowl with all its juices and the parsley. (I didn't have any today!!)

Cook for 2-3 minutes to reheat the seafood.

Drain the spaghetti and return to the pan. Add two-thirds of the sauce, toss well then transfer to a large serving platter. 

Spoon the remaining sauce over the top and serve with lemon wedges.

Serves 4