Working from Home
I always wanted to cook in front of the camera and not just post pictures of my food to social media but hey everything takes time I suppose. Now with all this time that we have on our hands these days I thought why not just do a cook off and have a bit of fun, so with this in mind I have just made my first home cooking show.
Crab & Clam Linguini (Main meal for 2 or 4 starter sized meals)
Buying Guide: There are many different types of white crab meat available on the market so my advice to you is ask your fishmonger for a suitable priced tub as these can be expensive and keep within your budget although I do like Cornish crab meat myself. If buying fresh clams then make sure they are closed as this will ensure that they are alive however you can also pick up a good quality frozen clam that had been frozen at sea and usually reasonably priced. The other commodities are easily obtained from your local store or supermarkets.
Utensils : 1 x large pan (for the pasta) and 1 x small pan, 1 x frying pan, 1 x colander, Chopping board and knife, cooking tongs, jug with a few tasting spoons, 5 x suitable size containers and a pair of food handler gloves.
Ingredients : 250g Linguini or Spaghetti, 110g white crab meat (fresh or pasteurized), 16-20 clams, 20g cornmeal, 2 red or green chilies, ¼ red pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 3 spring onion sticks, 50g fresh ginger, ¼ bunch coriander, ½ lime, 300ml rapeseed oil & 100ml olive oil, sea salt and crushed black pepper, 100ml white wine, (optional).
Method: Open your crab meat and pick through it using your food handler gloves while carefully checking for any shell that may have been left behind by the manufacturers. Repeat this process two or three times then place in to a suitable container, cover and put it in the fridge.
Put the clams in a container and wash the shells under cold water then drain.
Add a handful of cornmeal and cover in fresh cold water and leave for half an hour (this is to enable the clams to clean themselves and chuck out any sand that may be within the shells).
Drain and wash the clams and leave them in the fridge covered with a damp cloth prior to cooking. If you buy frozen clams then these can be cooked from frozen and a top tip, don’t leave them out as they will start to open. Another tip is you can cook these prior to making your dish.
Take the large pan and two thirds fill it with cold water add 3 table spoons of oil and 1 tea spoon of salt and bring to the boil.
Wash and drain the vegetables, then using your chopping board and knife, finely chop the ginger, garlic, chilies and pepper then add this to 250ml of rapeseed oil. Take the spring onion shoots, clean and trim both ends then finely slice and add to the oil, add the olive oil. Wash the coriander and shake off the excess water then chop it and keep separate. Cut the half of lime in to quarters.
Your water should now be boiling and to this add your pasta (please check the video at 1½ minutes in) bring the water back to the boil and simmer until cooked but with a little bite to it. Drain the pasta but pour a little of the cooking liquor in to the smaller pan and keep to one side to finish the dish.
Heat the frying pan then add your chili and ginger mixture and gently fry. To this add the fresh clams and cook for a couple of minutes, add the wine, add the crab, salt and pepper and heat gently. At this point don’t forget to taste for seasoning. Add some of the cooking liquor and the drained pasta, the coriander and more seasoning if needed but be careful not to over season.
Mix carefully with the tongs and serve in pasta bowls not forgetting to sprinkle with coriander to finish.
Thank you for your time, happy cooking and hope to see you soon.
All the best! David
Bravo Dave! Very instructive and enjoyable. Looking forward to tasting it. Love Paula & Geoff XX