In about a week’s time, on the day known as the March equinox (which this year will fall on the 20th of March), autumn will officially commence. 

Interestingly, astronomers and scientists use the March equinox as the start of autumn (in the Southern Hemisphere obviously), while meteorologists use March 1 as the official start of autumn.  I have no idea why, but I feel sorry for the meteorologists because their winter will also start early, on June 1.

But I digress. One of the joys of summer is eating lighter, healthier meals full of the goodness of fruit and vegetables in season.  One of my absolute favourite vegetables (although those pesky scientists classify it as a fruit) are tomatoes.  I love them all, but I especially adore baby tomatoes in all shapes, colours and sizes – rosa, cherry, yellow, orange, on the stalk, off the stalk.  I pop them like candy.  And don’t get me started on a good old tomato salad, with lots of different baby tomatoes, thin slices of red onion, salt, pepper and deliciously sweet vinegary dressing.  My idea of heaven!

Another thing I like a lot are molluscs, which is a fancy name for things in a shell. See, I’m learning from these scientists!  Not all molluscs are created equal though, in my book.  I prefer those that live in the sea, not in my garden.  One type of mollusc I have a particular affinity for is clams.  I adore these tiny morsels of deliciousness in their beautiful little shells. 

I first had them in a little restaurant in Milan in a fantastic pasta dish called spaghetti vongole.  Simple as anything, just clams cooked in a little white wine and garlic and tossed through hot, buttery pasta.  But boy, was it memorable!  We don’t really get fresh clams in South Africa (as far as I know) but the frozen ones are pretty good.  When I spotted some in the freezer section of my local supermarket the other day, I just had to buy them.  Fortunately, I found a recipe that did them justice.

BILL GRANGER – BEST OF BILL

My favourite Aussie has come up with a dish that combines both clams and tomatoes.  It’s the lightest, simplest pasta dish you’ll ever taste, but it packs an incredible flavour punch.  My husband is not a fan of simple pasta dishes.  He likes them meaty and saucy and cheesy.  Yet, even he went back for thirds!  If that’s not an endorsement of a pasta dish, I don’t know what is!

The other brilliant thing about this recipe is that it’s super quick. Literally, cooking the pasta is the thing that probably takes the most time.  So, if time is in short supply, you’ll want to make this.

Finally, as with all simple dishes, the quality of your ingredients must be spot on.  By all means, use the frozen clams (I did), but take the time to thaw them out naturally (don’t do the boiling water on frozen shellfish trick we all know and love!).  Also, your tomatoes must be flavourful and ripe (don’t put them in the fridge!) and use proper wine.  Not the stuff that’s been languishing in the back of the fridge for weeks (I know, I know, I do it too!).

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS AND TOMATOES

400 g good quality dried linguine (I used spaghetti)

60 ml extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 small fresh red chillies, finely chopped OR ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

Sea salt

1 kg clams

125 ml white wine

500 g cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Cook the linguine in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling, salted water. 

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic, chilli and salt and cook gently for one minute.  Add the clams, white wine and tomatoes. Cover the pan and cook for 3 minutes, or until the clams open.  Discard any unopened clams.

Remove from the heat.  Drain the pasta and add to the frying pan with the parsley. Gently toss to combine, then season with salt and black pepper to taste.

My notes: The clams I bought was already cooked, so I didn’t add them with the tomatoes and wine.  After the sauce cooked for about three minutes, I added the clams and just heated them through.

If you buy raw, “closed” clams, Bill advises putting them in a bowl of cold water with some oats or polenta to get the clams to spit out any grit they might have in their shells.  Rinse well before use.

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