dr bob made a weekend visit to the heart of Puglia, the heel of Italy responsible for orecchiette and cavatelli. Where olive trees have been growing since the fall of the Roman empire or before. If you believe the local hype. Cavatelli had already been discovered in the frozen food section of local US supermarkets by the dr bob food reconnaissance team, so points were scored with the hosts when the pasta was recognized by name. [Those dumb Americans! What do they know about pasta.] Homemade cavatelli actually made in the home, with shellfish (no shells, no fish) caught by local fishermen, unforgettable taste.
But the details...? Clams or mussels?* We never remember the difference between them, or whether cozze or vongole are mussels or clams, or clams or mussels, and we've forgot which of the two in either language were in this dish. Little orange guys if that helps. All we do remember is mussels/clams, lemon juice, olive oil, and basil or was it parsley? In short, we don't remember much. In fact we even forgot how we made it the first time in our own kitchen.
* no relation to "pets or meat?" (from the rabbit scene in Michael Moore's movie "Roger and Me").
first try | later corrections | |||
1 10 oz can | baby clams | [mussels are better] | ||
2 | cloves garlic | |||
1/2 | lemon, juice of | |||
1/6 - 1/3 c | olive oil | |||
1/4 - 1/2 c | white wine | |||
1/3 c | fresh chopped basil | [no basil, just more parsley] | ||
1/6 c | fresh chopped parsley | |||
1 lb | cavatelli | |||
parmesan, freshly grated to taste | [pecorino romano is better] | |||
black pepper, freshly ground to taste |