ROME 23/04 – Day 30: Fr Z’s Kitchen – Vongole veraci

At the dawn of the tie-breaker between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren the sun broke the horizon at 06:06.  When it sets at 20:10, there should be a new official FIDE World Champion.  It has been an amazing match.

I had a post the other day about the dangers of getting sick on bad shellfish, mussels and the like.   Be careful.   I had some emails from people who knew what I was talking about.  This one is exemplary:

I ate a bad mussel once —1980? It was in paella, and I knew it was bad, but I was too young to not care about the visual of spitting food on the floor at a nice restaurant in Staten Island. You only do that once; next time, I’d spit.

Five weeks of no solid food.

The feeling of food poisoning [or seasickness]:
First, you think you’re going to die, then you’re afraid you won’t.

Yup. That’s why I savaged the cook. As a cook you can’t eradicate every potential bad bit when it comes to shellfish, but you don’t maximize people’s danger.

For my part, I got a mess o’ clams yesterday enough for two, but wonderful for one.   These are vongole. Sometimes you see “true clams… vongole veraci”.  The Mediterranean “Carpet Clam” is ruditapes decussatus or venerupis decussata is being complimented now with the Manila Clam of the Pacific, venerupis philippinarum.  Fishmongers and restaurants don’t have to distinguish them.  Another clam species are lupini, smaller and gray rather than multicolored.  They are usually wild caught.  Also we have the delectable tellini, donax trunculus, which are smaller, flatter and have beautiful purple and yellow shells.

Here are my clams from last night.  I don’t know if they are veraci or not.  Next time I’ll ask.

To start a little oil and white wine and get lots of garlic going.  Low heat.  Get that good garlicky essence into the juice.

I cook the pasta ahead to nearly done, put it aside and keep it warm.

Crank up that heat to very high.  Remember that the clam shells have a lot of mass.  That means: a lot to heat all at once.  Get that heat way up before putting them in.

To cover better, we improvise, adapt and overcome.

They have finished opening.

DON’T OVERCOOK!  Scoop them out and put them aside.

I like to reduce the juice on high and then finish cooking the pasta in the juice.

Assemble.  Add parsley and pepper and bread.

Having extracted the shells.

Ding Liren wants some…. because he saw the consistory list.

I’m getting really good at this one.

And… you are probably asking yourself….

EVERY clam opened!   Only one clam was not included because I found when I did the preliminary rinsing before additional purging that it was cracked, broken, a goner.

More vongole for Fr. Z and, hopefully, The Great Roman™

It is such a pleasure to make this dish here.  Criminal prices are charged in restaurants in the area.  For what I would have paid for a rather meager and less than savory portion out and about, I had enough clams at the same price for one massive portion, two big portions or three, maybe four restaurant portions.

Meanwhile, here’s a puzzle.

Black to move and win.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Last night I would like to have had wine from the traditional Benedictine monks of Le Barroux, who have revived the ancient papal vinyards of Avignon. You can have wine when you want! Order some and help them!

Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance.

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