'Super' – spaghettini with squid and candied lemon
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 45 minutes
Viviana Varese's seafood pasta recipe features on one of her restaurant's signature menus. A vibrant combination of clams, squid and Amalfi lemon swaddle the spaghettini – a thinner version of spaghetti. Make sure you buy ready-prepared squid, or ask your fishmonger to prepare it for you, as this makes this pasta dish wonderfully quick to prepare.
First published in 2016
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Seafood spaghettini
- 300g of spaghettini
- 300g of fish stock
- 600g of clams
- 100g of squid, cleaned and cut into julienne
- 2 garlic cloves
- 40g of extra virgin olive oil
- 25g of chopped parsley
- freshly ground black pepper
Candied lemon zest
- 4 lemons, large, Amalfi lemons if available
- 120g of water
- 120g of sugar
To serve
- 80g of taralli, or similar breadsticks
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Begin with the candied lemon zest – this will make more than needed for the recipe but the remainder can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 month. Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler, being careful to not include any of the bitter white pith
- 4 lemons, large, Amalfi lemons if available
2
Cut the zest into julienne and add to a small pan with the water and sugar. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes until the zest has softened then allow to cool completely in the syrup before storing in the fridge until needed
- 120g of water
- 120g of sugar
3
Before cooking, crush the taralli (or breadsticks) in a pestle and mortar to create even crumbs. Alternatively, blitz briefly in a food processor. Store the crumbs in a container until ready to serve
- 80g of taralli, or similar breadsticks
4
To cook the spaghettini, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large pan then add the whole garlic cloves. Sauté gently for a few minutes to infuse the oil then discard the garlic
- 15g of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
5
Add the clams along with 2 ladles of the fish stock then cover the pan with a lid. Allow the clams to steam for a few minutes until all of the shells have opened (discard any that do not open) then strain the cooking liquor into a clean pan and reserve the clams
- 600g of clams
- 100g of fish stock
6
Place the cooking liquor back over the heat with the remaining fish stock. While heating through, pick out the clam meat and discard the shells
- 200g of fish stock
7
Add the spaghettini to the liquid and cook for 2 minutes, mixing continuously with a pair of tongs to help it soften. Stir in the shelled clams, the julienne squid and chopped parsley, along with 10g of the prepared candied lemon zest
- 300g of spaghettini
- 100g of squid, cleaned and cut into julienne
- 25g of chopped parsley
8
Cook for another minute then turn the heat off. Stir through the remaining olive oil and season with a little freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 25g of extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
9
To serve, twirl the spaghettini into soup dishes with the clams and squid. Pour over some of the cooking liquid and garnish with a little extra candied lemon zest and the taralli crumbs
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