Recipe of the week: Clam and chorizo pasta with parsley gremolata

Taken from For the Love of the Sea, compiled by Jenny Jefferies (Meze Publishing, £22)

Recipe by the Marine Stewardship Council

Loren Hiller: I love cooking with clams! They are easy to prepare, really meaty and delicious in pasta! The clams used in this recipe are sourced from the small-scale Poole Harbour Clam & Cockle Fishery, which is MSC-certified as a sustainable and well-managed fishery.

Serves 2

###For the clam and chorizo pasta

• 24 MSC-certified Poole Harbour clams (or other MSC clams, just look for the blue label)
• ½ white onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 100g spicy chorizo sausage (not cooking chorizo)
• 160g dried spaghetti
• 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 200ml dry white wine
• Pinch of salt and pepper

###For the parsley gremolata

• Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• 1 lemon, zested

Before cooking, check for any broken shells or clams that don’t close when tapped; these are dead and shouldn’t be eaten. Any dirty shells need to be scrubbed clean.

Finely dice the onion and garlic, and dice the chorizo. Place all three ingredients in a pan over a medium heat and season with salt. You shouldn’t need any oil as the chorizo will naturally release its own oils. Stirring frequently, cook until the onion and garlic are tender, usually around 10 to 12 minutes.

Bring a pan of water to the boil for your spaghetti. Salt the water and cook the spaghetti until al dente, or one minute before the final cooking time recommended on the packaging.

Once the onions are tender, add the tomatoes and let them soften slightly. Pour in the wine and allow to bubble and reduce.

Now for the fun part! Place your clams into the pan, put the lid on and allow them to steam. When the clams are cooked they’ll pop open. This should take three to five minutes (any clams which do not open should be discarded).

Take the spaghetti out with tongs, reserving the cooking water, and place the pasta into the pan of clams. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients. Put a tablespoon of the pasta water into the pan with the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the parsley gremolata, finely chop the parsley until it’s almost minced (don’t use a food processor). Stir the garlic and lemon zest into the parsley and chop a little more to get everything incorporated.

Serve the clam and chorizo pasta in bowls and sprinkle over the parsley gremolata. Enjoy!

Photography by Paul Gregory Photography