Molly malone spaghetti

A taste of an Irish lore, this dish pays tribute to the legend of Irish heroine Molly Malone – a fishmonger who sold cockles and mussels in the streets of 19th century Dublin. This spaghetti dish channels Molly’s seaside roots with tender clams and mussels simmered in a garlicky white wine sauce.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 1 red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup (250 ml) white wine
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• ½ small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped, stalks reserved
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 kg clams, cleaned
• 1 kg mussels, cleaned
• Salt
• 500 g spaghetti
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped basil leaves
• 2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Heat the chilli, garlic and olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Bring the white wine, onion, parsley stalks (reserve the leaves for later) and bay leaf to the boil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Add the clams and mussels, cover and boil for 3-4 minutes, or until their shells open. Drain in a colander with a large bowl underneath to reserve the cooking liquid.
3. Once cool enough to handle, discard any mussels or clams that haven’t opened, and pick the meat from two thirds of the remaining shellfish. Return the shelled meat and remaining shell-on seafood to the pan with the reserved cooking liquid – leaving behind the last bit of the liquid, to avoid any grit released by the shellfish during the cooking process.
4. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
5. Gently re-warm the shellfish in the pan over low heat, then add the chilli and garlic oil, the roughly chopped parsley and basil (save a pinch to garnish!), and the tomato. Avoid boiling the shellfish to ensure tender results.
6. Drain the spaghetti and toss with the clam and mussel mixture, then transfer to a large serving plate. Sprinkle with the reserved herbs and serve.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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