Orecchiette all’ortolana con Vongole
"Italian food is simple and simply beautiful."
If you are a little rusty on your Italian, the name of this recipe is Clams Orecchiette with Peas, Corn & Carrots. 
Many pasta lovers will tell you that Orecchiette (pronounced oh-reck-ee-ET-tee) is their absolute favorite. The pasta's unique and pretty shape makes it easy to hold on to pasta toppings to make each bite that much more delicious. An American English Dictionary will tell you that the definition of orecchiette is "little ears" and the pasta is made up of small, slightly unevenly shaped saucers good for sticky sauces.
Last evening after our eating out plans fizzled, I decided to whip up a tasty pasta dish and decided on Clams Pappardelle (one of our favorites). Although I had a dozen different types of pasta in the pantry, I had no pappardelle so I decided to improvise with what was available and that's how this dish came to be. I'll admit that several of my past improvisations have been disappointments but this one turned out to be a "keeper" and even my resident taste tester gave the dish her "thumbs up!" Buon appetito!
- 6 ounces Orecchiette pasta (dry)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
- 3 1/2 teaspoons flour (all-purpose)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (salt-free)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (Diamond Crystal Kosher salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup Italian cheese (grated, divided, prefer Grana Padano)
- 1 cup peas, carrots, corn (frozen mix veggies, thawed)
- 1 can whole baby clams (10 oz can, drained, reserve juice)
- 1/2 cup clam juice (from the can of clams)
- 1/4 cup dry sherry (prefer Taylor)
- 1 tablespoon capers (drained)
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
Drain the pasta and return back to the pot. Reserve one cup of pasta water. Set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, about 2 minutes. Increase to medium heat, add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes until fragrant.
Whisk in the Italian seasoning, salt, red pepper flakes and flour. Continue to whisk for 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce begins to turn light brown.
While continuing to whisk, add the milk, the dry sherry and the clam juice. Allow to simmer for about 3 minutes.
Add the grated Italian cheese, the capers and the mixed vegetables. Cover and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese is melted and the veggies are tender.
Add the drained clams to the sauce mixture and simmer for 2 minutes.
Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and gently stir to combine. If desired, add fresh chopped parsley and the remaining 1/4 cup of grated Italian cheese for serving.
Serving Size 1 cup
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 447kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 18g28%
- Saturated Fat 10g50%
- Cholesterol 73mg25%
- Sodium 790mg33%
- Potassium 272mg8%
- Total Carbohydrate 44g15%
- Dietary Fiber 2g8%
- Sugars 4g
- Protein 21g42%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Lots of substitution possibilities for this recipe. A few cups of fresh, coarse chopped Baby Spinach in addition to, or as a replacement for any or all of the mixed veggies would work. Cut green beans and/or zucchini squash is another possibility as well as halved cherry tomatoes. The list is endless...
Choice of Cheese - Grana Padano became my choice of Italian grated cheese recently and that's why I used it. Fresh grated Parmesan (i.e. Parmigiano Reggiano) or Asiago are more commonly available and either would be fine in this recipe. Just be sure to try and use fresh grated and avoid packaged, processed cheese if at all possible. Read my blog entry Cheese ... good substitutes for Parmesan and you'll learn more.
