Zuppa Di Mussels Clams O Vongole Al Pomodoro Recipes

Steps:

• Into a saucepan put 4 dozen *vongole* or small clams (cockles or mussels can be used as well).
• Pour over them three-quarters of a bottle of white wine and let them cook until they have opened.
• Drain them, setting aside the liquid in which they have cooked, and remove the empty half-shells. -- Chop the white part of a leek with a small onion, add a clove of garlic, and saute this mixture in a saucepan with good oil, add the liquid from the clams, and a quart of fish stock; add a peeled and chopped tomato, a bouquet of marjoram, and a few green leaves of celery.
• Let this bubble fast for ten minutes, remove the bouquet and the garlic, stir the clams into the soup, and pour it into the tureen.
• Serve separately small croutons of bread fried in oil.

Steps:

• Remove excess sand from clams by soaking them in a bowl of cold salted water. The clams will open up their shells and release any sand and grit that is inside.
• In a pan, heat the 1/4 cup oil and fry up 2 cloves garlic, the chili pepper, the stone, if using, and cherry tomatoes until the tomatoes soften and lose their shape, about 3 minutes.
• Add the clams, and cook for 30 seconds with the lid on, shaking the pan often.
• Add the wine to the pan, and cover with the lid until the clams have completely opened.
• The clams release some water, which is the base for the soup. Add a generous splash of white wine. You can make this more soupy by adding a little more wine or even a few spoonfuls of tomato puree.
• Add the parsley and salt, to taste. Continue cooking for another minute for all the flavors to come together.
• Rub some raw garlic on the toasted bread slices. Drizzle the bread with the extra virgin olive oil. Serve the clam soup in bowls with 2 half slices of toast per bowl.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add the mussels, a touch of water and cover to steam until the mussels open.
• Meanwhile, in a skillet (no oil) over medium-high heat, add the chorizo, fennel, tomatoes and chile flakes and heat over medium-high heat.
• Cover the pan with a lid to bring up the temperature. Add the white wine and cook uncovered to reduce for 2 minutes, then add the fra diavolo tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Once the mussels open, remove them from the liquid and place them on a plate. Add the mussel liquid to the skillet with the tomato mixture and mix it in to build layers of flavors. Add the mussels and parsley, mix and season to taste.
• In a bowl, plate the mussels and generously cover with the sauce.