An Amazing Low Calorie Stuffed Egglpant for Meatless Monday

Love, Love, Love the thought of Meatless Mondays. I’m a huge fan of anything vegetable and it’s just nice to see that you don’t always need meat at every meal. It helps me really put my brain to work and see how many meat dishes I can convert into meatless dishes and/or simply come up with.
To some the word meatless or vegetable is such a turn off, but really to me it makes me happy and also gives me the opportunity to start my week off clean and more healthy. I don’t believe in ‘as long as it’s vegetable it’s healthy’. For me you can’t steam broccoli and then add 1/2 a pound of butter, or flour, or all those heavy sauces and consider it healthy; at that point just eat a burger and your probably more healthy and it’s less caloric.

To me meatless resonates with clean, lean, purifying, nutritious and most of all beneficial. So, I think of dishes that I can put together that are all the above mentioned. It’s not that I am eating meatless because meat is bad and so on, so on. But because I truly enjoy vegetables and healthy grains and actually making things that derive soley from the earth. Or atleast most of it.

The Recipe that follows is so simple and really delicious. I love eggplant, it’s a great substitute for meat because it’s a really filling vegetable. I love eggplant Parmiggiana I have a lo-cal recipe here. This time I kept the eggplant whole and stuffed it with mushrooms…Delicious. I hope that you like it and remember that you can always make your on twist, add another vegetable, or you can stuff it with Quinoa, Cous-cous, Rice, even Meat.
This is my meatless delicious version. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 medium Eggplants

1/2 lb. Sliced mushrooms

1 small can diced Tomatoes

1 clove Garlic, chopped finely

3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Chili Flakes (optional)

Parchment Paper

Preheat your oven at 180° C (350°F).
Slice your eggplant in half and with a spoon scoop out the center leaving about 1-2 in. around the border. Put the eggplant aside and begin to slice into small cubes what you scooped out of the eggplant.

In a large saucepan heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil and add your finely chopped garlic clove, once golden color add your mushrooms and chopped eggplant. Allow to cook for 5-8 minutes until you see the eggplant and mushrooms start to shrink a little, now add your can of diced tomatoes, salt and pepper and chili flakes and allow to simmer for another 8 minutes.

In the meantime, drizzle remainder of olive oil inside the whole eggplants and sprinkle some salt as well. By now you can turn off your eggplant and mushroom sauce and scoop the mixture inside of the eggplants. Face both halves together to look like a whole eggplant and wrap in parchment paper, put in a baking tray, do the same with the other eggplant and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Be careful when you unwrap the eggplant as steam might escape. There might be sauce at the bottom of the parchment so grab the whole thing put on plates and push the eggplant off the parchment and eat. YUM.

*Optional you could grate Parmigiano and put over the top if you wish….My husband did.

Healthy Chicken My-Way with Sundried Tomatoes and Mushrooms

I know I have mentioned before how much my Husband and I love chicken. It’s the perfect ingredient for anything healthy….it can be difficult at times to have ideas for skinless chicken breasts especially when you want to keep it healthy, but still tasty.

I love to grill it and then accompany it with any vegetable I have in the house i.e. zucchini, eggplant, green beans, spinach, broccoli or of course fresh vegetables salad.
But then the fall comes along and you start feeling like you want to eat something warm and a little more; how can I put it heartfilling. So anyways, most fall/winter recipes include heavier ingredients and aren’t as healthy as one would like. I find it though easy because I just like to throw whatever vegetable I find in my fridge that I could also use in a salad raw, and cook it. In this case I had sliced mushrooms (I love to add those raw to a green vegetable salad), and some sundried tomatoes in olive oil. Perfect I knew exactly what I could do so here the recipe follows.
Enjoy this heart-warming meal you can accompany it with other vegetables, roasted potatoes, or with brown rice, quinoa, cous-cous, and whole grain pasta. You pick that.

Ingredients:

2 medium sliced skinless Chicken Breasts

1 handful Mushrooms, Sliced

10 Sundried Tomatoes, drained

1 clove, Garlic minced

Handful Parsley, chopped

3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil

1/5 cup Water

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan heat the olive oil, and add your garlic, add your mushrooms and allow to cook for about 4 minutes, in the meantime chop your sundried tomatoes and then add to your mushrooms, add the water and allow to simmer for 3 minutes.

Add chicken breasts to the pan with the ingredients, cover and allow to 10 minutes, turning the chicken over once. Add parsley, salt and pepper cook for about another 3 minutes and then serve.

Tuscany: Food, Wine and “Le Terme”…Need I say more!

Wine tasting in the Banfi Castle, a Fiorentina steak in Montalcino, a fountain/cascade bath in Saturnia and more typical things to discover about Tuscany.
Let me bring Tuscany to you and discover some of the most delicious food, recipes and of course; wine (if you’re a wino like myself you will truly appreciate), and a few other surprises I discovered and wanted to share with all mythineaters.

It all starts in Montalcino the home of “Brunello di Montalcino” a luscious, deep red wine that has to be aged at least 5 years (or 6 years if it’s a Riserva) by Italian law and only made with Sangiovese grapes from the Montalcino vineyards.  If you like it just a little younger there is “Rosso di Montalcino” also luscious and deep red but more subtle, it only has to be aged about a year, still made with Sangiovese grapes from the Montalcino vineyards. Both amazing. The process is quite long, so there are about 2 weeks a year to be exact when the grapes are picked, generally the last week in September and the 1st week in October, then they are selected carefully, placed in these huge tins for fermentation, then moved into wood barrels and for the remainder of the aging they get placed in the bottle and when ready labeled and off to be sold. There are about 300 “Cantine” that you could visit, with some of the most famous in the world known as Banfi, Biondi Santi Franco, Brunelli, Campana, Colombaiolo, Il Poggiolo, Belpoggio, Barbi and Poggio Antico just to name a few.

                                    

The wine is paired beautifully with the Bistecca Fiorentina which is a loin cut from the male cow raised only in the Tuscany-Umbria region called Chianina . The bone has a “T” shape know as a T-bone steak in the USA, the smallest you could order is about 1 lb and 9 oz. and 2.3 inches thick. They cook it rare about 3-5 minutes per side (and don’t try to ask well cooked or they will give you a dirty look).  You salt it only at the end when you serve it; we accompanied the steak with some stewed veggies. It really was delicious and melted in our mouth.

               

Another famous dish around here is the “Ribollita” which means re-boiled, because every time you re-heat it, it tastes better. It’s derived from back in the day when the farmers only cooked on Fridays, so they used to get vegetables and old bread, cook it in a huge pot and then reheat it the rest of the week. The two most important ingredients are black cabbage and beans. You top it off with some Extra virgin Olive oil and Bread.

Then you have a lot of boar, that’s the meat they use for their Ragu sauce served with Papardelle.  I had Bresaola made from the Chianina cow served with rucola; and of course I had a delicious fresh Porcini soup. Crostini with Pesto, Patè or Pecorino toscano. And something very simple yet amazing, Ricotta Balls with just a bit of olive oil and Parsley.

                       

After all this delicious food there is of course endless desserts, but myself not being a sweet tooth decided that I would opt for the more simple cookies, afterall this is what Tuscany is known for. You’ve all heard about the world-famous Cantucci aka Biscotti in the USA. Then there is one that I particularly love called Brutti ma Buoni which means ‘Ugly but Good’ (in this case Delicious). It’s simply made with ground Hazelnuts, egg whites, sugar and powdered sugar.

  

Yes, I ate and drank all of this and still managed to go to Saturnia a town about 60 km south-west of Montalcino known for their Terme, which is pretty much a natural Cascade of Sulfur water that is at a normal temp. of 99,5 degrees Farenheit. It’s extremely therapeutic and highly recommended for the skin, bones and any circulatory issues one could have not to mention the relaxing benefits you get from the water. It is the most unique waterfall cascade/spring that I have ever laid my eyes on, supposedly the sulfur causes coves and that is how all theses little pockets are created. I loved every second of it and needed some detox relax after all that drinking.

    

Ciao, Hope you enjoyed Tuscany as much as I did.
 

I’m Back – My Summer Thineats in Italy

You’re right! Yes, I have completely disappeared into a world of my own, enjoying some of the most delicious cuisine in northern Italy; my hometown.

As most of you mythineater followers are aware of; I love to eat! I love to eat all types of food; good food though! I seem to have never come to terms with the fact of leaving the house and going out to pay for something that I could easily have cooked myself (and quite possibly even better).

I enjoy Italy especially, because food is a celebration; you go out and meet up with friends have about four hours sitting at the table enjoying each others company while enjoying some amazing food. No hassle, only pure enjoyment.

My husband and I live in Cervia, a beach town on the Adriatic Sea, in the province of Ravenna located in the Emilia-Romagna Region of Northern Italy. It’s a gorgeous, quaint little town where one of the things that I love to have and take full advantage of is FRESH CAUGHT FISH.
The fisherman get up at dawn, go out at sea and return in the early morn to sell fish at our local fish market, what they fish is what you make and eat that day.
Of course we have a couple of local “Pescheria” (fish store) that have other things as well and maybe fish caught that morning or the day before on the Mediterranean Sea. One of my favorites to purchase, something I always order or make at home is Vongole aka Clams. You make it in this delicious light wine sauce and they are divine and light. You can eat them alone or accompanied with any sorts of pasta, from Tagliolini to Bavette to Spaghetti.

These I haven’t yet mentioned , but I love just as much: Cozze aka Mussels, there’s just something about them so much flavor locked up in this black shell. I love “le cozze alla tarantina” cooked in a very light red sauce with just a hint of spicy. You get served some fresh toasted bread on the side and voilà.

Then they have something that cannot even be put into words of how delicious it is, don’t freak out I know that this is unexpected but it’s really one of my all time favorites, Polipo aka Octopus, yes you read right; Octopus. It’s delicious! Accompanied normally by boiled potatoes, you add some Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt, pepper and chopped flat leaf parsley mix it together and you have a party of luscious flavor in your mouth. Ah, Yes!

The list of seafood is infinite, anywhere from tartare to grilled, from broiled to poached, and from steamed to seared. The secret to why it tastes so amazing is that Italians don’t believe in flavoring their food too much, just a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper some parsley maybe and that’s it! You really don’t want to add too many ingredients and take away from that simple yet amazing flavor the seafood already has.

Then we go into the meats, we of course have some of the best charchuterie on the planet, I mean does it get any better than an amazing slice of Proscuitto di Parma, or Prosciutto San Daniele?! Or let me mention Culatello di Zibello it just melts in your mouth it has less fat on the outside and amazing in your mouth. We also have something called Bresaola, which is a lean meat aged as well and just very particular flavor almost a little peppery but oh, served with some rucola and Parmigiano shavings and a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil on top its to die for.

All of the above mentioned accompanied by none other than olives, amazing aged cheeses from Parmigiano Reggiano to Pecorino, also Mozzarella di Buffala or Squacerone con Fichi Caramellati (which would be a really soft, creamy, extremely fresh cheese accompanied by carmalized figs), I know but you have to try it to actually fathom what it tastes like.
I (and most Italians in this region) always have to accompany this with our local flat bread called ‘Piadina’ it’s crunchy on the outside but super soft on the inside, it’s hard to describe because you will not be able to get it anywhere outside of the Romagna Region (not even in Emilia) so it’s particular and delicious. Now there are other amazing breads out there to accompany this with; like a schiacciatina (just the Pizza crust), or a foccacia or of course any other sort of fresh-baked bread.

Then of course we have all sorts of delicious meats, salsiccia aka sausage, (this is very different from American sausage, it’s peppery and has some most amazing texture and oh so bad for you but delicious). Costolette aka ribs, just grilled though nothing else, yum. Pancetta aka bacon, but thicker and of course; delicious. The list goes on you’ll have the typical filleto (filet), Tagliata di Manzo (strip steak), Lonza (Pork chop), etc..

Always accompanied of course by vegetables, generally: Pinzimonio, which would be all types of raw vegetables, Fennel, Celery, Cucumber, Radishes, Tomatoes, Carrots, Endive, Cipollina, and Bell Peppers; chopped longwise and served with a small dipping cup on the side that has Extra Virgin Olive oil and Salt. You dip the vegetables in the mix and enjoy.
Of course, you also can have grilled veggies, spinach, mushrooms, rosemary roasted potatoes and “pomodori gratinate” aka tomatoes au gratin (which is basically breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and salt, sprinkled over a tomato half and baked in the oven). Or last but not least “radicchio ai bruciatini” which is sautéed radicchio with toasted pancetta and a balsamic demi-glaze.

And then, and then dessert! Dessert is something very particular in this country because it varies: You have Tiramisù, Profiteroles, Mascarpone, Zabaglione and of course Sorbetto and Gelato. But one of my all time favorites is Crostata di Frutta aka Fresh Fruit Pie, it has a really crunchy crust (my favorite thing: crunch) then crema della nonna (which is a cream made out of egg yolks, flour, milk and sugar), topped with fresh fruit; it’s hard to describe just how delicious it is. I love, love, love it.

Of course we all know about biscotti, but my favorites are the Scroccadenti they are practically the same as biscotti but with figs instead of the almonds. Delish!

The list of foods in this wonderful country are never-ending but this is all for now. I hope that you enjoyed.

Stayed tuned next blog will be about foods in Tuscany, Rome and Positano (the Amalfi); Yes, I’m taking you around with me. And no, I won’t forget to post recipes as well.

Ciao

Light summer Salad with Grilled Corn and Mushrooms

Salad, Salad, Salad. It seems to be something that I always crave. Whenever I go a day or so without a salad that is all I start to crave; not at all a bad thing might I add!
My husband and I love to have a nice big salad for dinner at least once or twice a week and we try to come up with different ways of making it, we always add something different, the possibilities are endless as to what you can add to a salad and also to the way you prep it.

I especially love to grill some of the ingredients and when it’s hot out and you just feel like using the grill it’s perfect. Grilled vegetables are amazing and add so much flavor to what might seem like a boring meal. In this recipe we had found some nice big mushrooms and corn and so we decided to add that to the salad, it married so well together I had to post the recipe so that you all could try it at home. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did. You can serve it on the side or as a main dish (which is what we did..) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 bag mixed salad (I like Italian)

1 handful of arugula

1 handful of Baby Spinach

2 ears of corn, cleaned

4 big sized mushrooms, or 2 Portobello’s

6 grape Tomatoes, sliced in half

1 can quartered Artichokes, drained

4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil

2 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Lemon, squeezed

Salt and pepper, as needed

Preheat your grill. Wrap your corn in aluminium foil and place on the grill for about 20-30 minutes, turning over after 10 minutes.

In the mean time clean you mushroom caps and sprinkle salt and pepper and 1 Tbsp. of Extra Virgin olive oil, set on the grill and allow to cook until golden brown, flipping once; about 10-15 minutes.

Place your salad, arugula, baby spinach, tomatoes and artichokes in a large salad bowl. By now your corn and mushrooms should be ready so turn your grill off and set aside. With a knife remove the corn from the cob or husk and add to your salad. Add the remaining olive oil, the vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper mix together well and serve. Once plated place the mushroom caps on top of the salad and eat. Yum!

Sesame Crusted Grilled Tuna Steak

There is something just so delicious to me about Tuna Steak! My husband and I both love seafood and seem to never be able to get enough of it.
For starters there is so many different types of fish and/or seafood; from tuna steak to sea bass, tilapia to salmon, lobster to shrimp, clams to scallops and the list can go on forever, it’s simple, fresh and delicious. It’s healthy and easy to digest, perfect for a light meal anytime of the year.

We both have fallen in love with tuna on the grill, we basically make in about 10 minutes and that’s including marinating, grilling and serving…HA!
My husband is amazing with the grill, you might think that’s not that hard but it is; you need to know how and when to flip the food, what temperature and most of all how to keep it tender without leaving it raw or burnt. However, he is great at it and seeing as though I like most of my meals grilled, I am truly appreciative that he does the grilling as it gives me a break from doing all the work myself.

Tuna is figure friendly; with very little fat and just 80 calories per 6 ounce steak.
Tuna is an excellent source of protein. It’s full of omega-3’s and contains Vitamin E and K which help prevent heart disease, cancer and blood coagulation. It has essential minerals such as potassium, niacin, selenium, iron and iodine.
You can see why there are so many health benefits associated with tuna. So; consume tuna regularly as part of a healthy diet and reap all of these health benefits.

We like to grill it, but there are many, many ways of prepping it. In this recipe I use only 4 ingredients; be creative and see what you can create or how you want to marinate it. I accompanied it with a light leafy, green salad. Avocado is excellent as well, and I also like asparagus or green beans; so see what you have or like and use it! Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 6 oz. Fresh Tuna steaks

2 tbsp. of Habanero hot sauce (Crystal is great)

2 tbsp. of Sesame seeds

Grinded Peppercorns

drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat you grill. Get your tuna steaks and evenly spread 1 tbsp of hot sauce on one side of the steaks, grind peppercorns and sprinkle add 1 tbsp of sesame seeds on top; flip steaks over and repeat procedure using the remaining ingredients.
Drizzle the Olive oil and put steaks on the grill cook for about 4 minutes on each side; the steaks should be a little pink in the center*.
Remove from heat and serve. That’s it!

* If you like it cooked thoroughly then leave it on longer.

 

 

Healthy, Quick and Delicious fixes for the Summer

Sorry, I haven’t been posting many recipes. It’s no excuse I have been really busy and also I have been pretty much living off of Fruit and fresh Salads as the weather here in Italy has been unbearably hot. I cannot remember a June that has had 32°C or 90°F weather. No, complaints on my part really…I love the summer in all it’s glory, but I doesn’t help the blog out any because instead of cooking I much rather be either tanning or under a cold shower. HA!

However, things that my body has been craving more than ever this year is fruit and lots of it; so my Husband and I have been going to the farmers market it actually is his house where he has a little stand and sells the fruit with his wife that they pick every day, they have a vast variety of fruits and vegetables we’ve been getting Cherries, Apricots, and Sugar Babies ( a small watermelon size of a cantaloupe ) as far as the fruit goes.They really do taste so much better than the ones you find at the supermarket it’s truly unbelievable.

                

These fruits are extremely good for you and they really help keep you hydrated, which in turn keeps you from swelling up with all this heat. Sometimes, I feel like a blow fish, it gets so humid and unbearably hot that I have to eat some watermelon or pineapple to help me de-bloat because water is just not cutting it.

Another thing that I like to make when its hot are these salads here:

http://mythineats.com/2011/12/10/garbanzo-and-tuna-green-salad/

http://mythineats.com/2012/03/18/healthy-and-elegant-zucchini-ribbon-salad/

http://mythineats.com/2011/11/21/shrimp-artichoke-green-salad/

Or the classic Caprese Salad, some red ripe Tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and my home-grown Basil with just a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some Salt and you have yourself an amazing Lunch or Dinner. Fresh and hassle free.

                     

Just remember that there are so many delicious fresh recipes that you can make that are so good for you and refresh the body rather than making you feeling heavy and bloated. Listen to your body and what it’s craving it’s the only ways you can get through these days. I will be posting some very delicious typical Italian recipes that are light and for Mythineaters….

Have a fantastic weekend and remember that these are just a few of the many summer cooking recipes to come.

Ciao

My Cleansing Vegetable Soup

So, as you all know I just finished a 10 day cleanse. I like to come off of it and introduce a nice vegetable soup with only seasonal, organic and fresh ingredients. I strongly believe that whenever you come off of any cleanse or detox you should slowly introduce food, now this soup is perfect for that, but it’s also perfect for when you are feeling sluggish or when you are detoxing but don’t want to do anything drastic have a day of this soup and you will feel fantastic the next day!

My husband loves to eat this soup whenever I make it. Although he’s not a big fan of the cleanse, he loves detoxing with this delicious vegetable soup. It’s packed with nutrients and it’s so beneficial to the body and digestive tract. You can really put anything that you find in season this time around I added pretty much only green vegetables because that is what I found in season. use what you find and like and make sure to add very little salt, you don’t want to retain too much water and besides too much salt isn’t good anyways. I hope that you enjoy it and that you give yourself an opportunity to occasionally eat only veggies……It’s GREAT and really beneficial!
You will notice that when you do introduce meat you feel way more sluggish and different, I am not a vegetarian by any means I love my Prosciutto Di Parma (or San Daniele), grilled chicken and fish. But I feel fantastic taking a break. And so will you!

Ingredients:

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Carrot, chopped

Handful Parsley, finely chopped

2 cubes Vegetable bullion, No MSG or Preservatives

5 Zucchini, chopped

1 bunch Asparagus, chopped

1 handful Green Beans, chopped

2 handful Baby Spinach

Salt and cayenne, to taste

 

Boil first 4 ingredients in a pot for about 30 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook to desired doness.  Add the salt and cayenne, if you want. Serve.

 

My Benefits of Completing a 10 day Master Cleanse

So, I completed the 10 day Master Cleanse, that means 10 days of just drinking: Purified water, fresh squeezed Lemon Juice, Grade B Maple syrup and Cayenne; it sounds tough but it sounds tougher than it actually is to complete these 10 days, I guess I just tell myself that 10 days out of 365 is nothing. Which is absolutely the TRUTH!

I feel amazing, I am full of energy, my skin is glowing, my hair looks and feels luscious and soft, no more tiredness, no more feeling sluggish, I don’t even need the alarm clock I am up at 6 am automatically every morning, and then of course I look and feel tight and slim.

Ok, I know what you are thinking, I don’t believe in this type of drastic cleanses, I could never survive 10 days without eating, I crash if I don’t have my morning lunch there is no way that I could go 10 days without absolutely any food at all, etc.. these are all things that we tell ourselves; I tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to do.

I am not saying that we should all do the master cleanse and I am not saying that it’s the best thing to do for weightloss or to feel great, I am sure and knowledgeable that there are other things out there, I just found this one and it seems to work for me in a fantastic way; the benefits are many and I love all the other internal cleansing things it does to my body, being a foodie it is obvious that sometimes my body needs a little break and I need that break to not only re-energize my internal and external body but also so that I can get new cooking ideas for you (mythinreaders).

I firmly believe though that if you do something like this you can’t come off it and eat a burger, NO! You have to slowly introduce the food groups and try to stay off meat as long as possible.  These are my steps to re-introducing food into my body:

Day 1:  Drink only fresh squeezed Orange or Grapefruit Juice diluted with water throughout the day.

Day 2:  Drink fresh squeezed Orange or Grapefruit for Breakfast
For Lunch seasonal all organic veggie broth, and for Dinner the veggie broth with the vegetables

Day 3:  Drink fresh squeezed OJ or Grapefruit for breakfast (or tall glass of water)
For Lunch Vegetable Soup, and for Dinner a nice vegetable salad (Today you can also start introducing Nuts, Beans)

Day 4:  Drink a tall glass of water, or OJ or a nice herbal tea, and a nice fruit, for Lunch and Dinner either soup or salad (Today you can also start introducing Whole Grains)

Day 5:  Drink tall glass of water, you can also introduce Green tea (I love it!), for Lunch Salad or Veggie Soup, and for Dinner Roasted Vegetables and Salmon or (any fish you like)

Slowly you can introduce the rest of the foods that you usually eat whole grains, rice, coffee, dairy, and poultry. These are all good food groups to eat I would avoid sodas, and all junk food (i.e. chips, fried foods, candy bars, artificial sweeteners, etc..)
Try to eat as raw and fresh as possible.

Now, lets get the blog back to eating but staying thin, more delicious recipes to come. Ciao

Light Summer – Bavette alle Vongole (Linguine with Clams)

So, alright you all know how much I love to eat healthy and still enjoy life. This is the perfect dish for just that! You get anything better than this, I love this meal it’s one of my favorite dishes; I honestly could eat it every week. It’s light, gourmet and perfect for summer!

So, my Brother came over for a few days and I knew that he was really good at making this dish so we went to the fish market on the canal here in Cervia, Italy (where I live); we bought some live clams and decided that this was our dinner dish. It was a lovely spring day the sun was out but there was still a little breeze and so it was perfect weather for this dish. We accompanied it with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio and an evening walk after the delicious dinner. This is a dish I would suggest anyone to try if you haven’t yet, you’ll love it.

Here I explain how to clean the clams. http://mythineats.com/2012/03/04/low-fat-has-never-tasted-so-delicious-vongole-con-vino-bianco-clams/ In this recipe we actually removed the shells before making the sauce so that you don’t have to get your hands dirty while enjoying this dish but you can skip this step if you wish, I’ll explain in the recipe.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

500 gr. of Linguine

500 gr. of Clams (cleaned)

2 Garlic Cloves

Handful Parsley, fresh leaves (chopped finely)

4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Clam water (How to in recipe)

Chili flakes, optional

Put your cleaned Clams in a small pot, fill with water and boil until the clams all open up; approx 10 minutes. Remove from heat and leave in pot. (Do not drain you will use this water in recipe)

Place a pot a water to boil for your Linguine and pour in about 2 tbsp. of salt.

Now get your clams and remove the meat from the clam shell with either a pairing knife or even a small teaspoon and place in a bowl, throw out the shells and save the juice.

Pour your olive oil in a medium saucepan, mince your garlic and add to oil allow to get golden, add the Clam meat and allow to cook for about 3 minutes, start adding your clam juice gradually. Add your parsley and chili flakes and continue to cook for about 5-8 minutes until sauce starts to thicken.

In the meantime your water should be boiling so throw in your linguine and follow cooking instructions on box. Drain and add your clams mix all ingredients together well and you can begin to serve. Buon Apettito