mussel saganaki with feta & fennel / mejillones saganaki con feta &hinojo *

 

This Greek inspired dish gets its name from the cooking vessel: the sagani or saganaki.

serves 4

1kg fresh mussels or clochinas; cleaned, debearded and rinsed

N.B. When cleaning and debearding the mussels it is important to discard any broken or dead mussels: tap any open mussels - if they close they are alive.

4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion; finely chopped

1 fennel bulb; finely chopped

1 green pepper; finely chopped

2 garlic cloves; finely chopped

2 bay leaves

200g cherry tomatoes; blitzed

50ml white wine

150g feta cheese

½ -1 large, red chilli; finely sliced

small bunch of large, flat leaf parsley; leaves only, roughly chopped

small bunch of dill; roughly chopped

Maldon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large, wide saucepan. Add the onion, fennel, pepper, garlic, bay leaves. Season and cook over a moderate heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft.

2. Check the acidity of the blitzed tomatoes; balance with a little sugar if necessary. Add to the saucepan and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Add the mussels, cover and steam for a few minutes until they open.

4. Remove from the heat; stir in the remaining ingredients.

5. Serve with fresh crispy bread.

Prawn & Cigala Cocktail / Cóctel de Gambas y Cigalas

serves 2

6 Raw fresh prawns

10 Raw fresh cigalas

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp Jerez vinegar

2 little gem lettuces

½ green pepper

a pinch smoked paprika

chives

for the Marie Rose sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp tomato ketchup

few drops Tabasco sauce

2 pinches smoked paprika

¼ tsp sweet paprika

1 tbsp cream

4 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp Brandy (I used a Valencian Orange brandy)

2 pinches Maldon sea salt

2 turns Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the teaspoon of lemon juice and vinegar.

2. Carefully drop in the prawns and cigalas; and when they rise to the surface, drain and remove them to a bowl of iced water to chill.

3. Peel the cooled prawns and remove the digestive tract.

4. Select your serving dishes; and arrange a row of upright leaves around the inside edge.

5. Finely chop the remainder of the little gems to make a bed in the centre.

6. Finely dice the green pepper and lay that on top.

7. Carefully arrange the pawns and cigalas.

for the Marie Rose sauce...

8. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and combine well; adjusting Tabasco, paprika and seasoning to taste.

9. Spoon over the sauce. Then, top with a pinch of paprika and a sprinkle of chopped chives.

Spaghetti Vongole

serves 2

for the spaghetti

80g 00 flour

80g Semolina flour

1 free-range egg

3 free-range egg yolks

for the sauce

2 garlic cloves, sliced

small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, stalks finely chopped: leaves separate.

2 dried chillies: break them up for a spicier sauce.

75ml white wine

4 tbsp olive oil

2 ripe tomatoes

400g berberchos (clams)

Maldon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl mix the 2 flours together; and with a fork, combine the egg and yolks.

2. Bring the dough together with your hand and knead for about 5 minutes until it is glossy and elastic.

3. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour.

4. Run the dough through a pasta machine on the widest setting; and after each run-through fold both ends into the centre; and press down. Repeat this 5 times.

N.B. You can roll the dough short and wide or long and thin(as I did; with a resulting long spaghetti).

5. Dust the dough lightly with semolina flour; and then run through the narrower setting before passing through the spaghetti mill.

6. Hang up until needed: it will dry in 48 hours and (if stored in an air-tight container), last for months.

then...

7. Put a large saucepan of heavily salted water on to boil. Lid on.

N.B. Never add oil to the pan; this will only stop the sauce sticking to the pasta.

8. Put the clams in a bowl of cold water and leave for 15 minutes.

9. Heat a thick-bottomed pan. Add the oil and fry the sliced garlic and chillies; until the garlic starts to colour.

N.B. this is aglio (garlic), olio (oil) e peperonchino (chilli): a great pasta sauce in its own right.

10. Drain the clam and add to the pan; along with the parsley stalks, tomatoes and wine.

11. Cover and shake the pan from time to time; until the clams open... about 3-4 minutes.

12. Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water... it will only take 2-3 minutes to cook. Lid off.

14. Discard any clams that haven't opened and season to taste.

15. Drain the spaghetti and add to the sauce pan: sprinkle over the parsley leaves and toss the spaghetti in the sauce.

16. Serve...