A pasta polemic

Let's face it: we LOVE pasta. For all of the anti-carb eaters out there, we LOVE pasta. It's my favorite food: when nothing else will work, a bowl of spaghetti or linguine (more on this below), with plain tomato sauce and parmesan cheese will. Let's face it: somwhere on your list of ten favorite foods, there is at least one pasta related dish, be it an Italian classic, spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese, it's there. You probably have a box of pasta in your house somewhere.

And there are SO MAY RULES we get told about pasta. Some that I have heard, and enforce to one degree or another are: sauces with olive oil base: long pasta, sauces with a butter base: stubby pasta. Sauce with chunks: chunky pasta. Smooth sauces: long pasta. Cheese? Yes with meat, no with fish. Small pasta in soup, no big pasta in soup. Always al dente. Never use a knife and fork when you're eating it. Fresh pasta is better than dry pasta.

HOLD ON. What is eating all about? It's about PLEASURE. I would like to propose a rather radical solution: Let's throw out all rules about pasta.

Except one. Sorry about that one. But I'll get to that.

See, everyone has his or her own favorite way of cooking, and eating pasta. I remember last year teaching my friend Andrew how to make fettucine alfredo (which is NOT an Italian recipe, although Italy HAS adopted it). Fettucine alfredo calls for fresh pasta, and we cooked it to a point where I thought it was too soft. Andrew thought it was too firm. Does that make me right and him wrong ? I COULD say "well, I have more Italian blood in me, so I'm right (and I may think it in my heart), but the fact is, no I'm not right, and I'm not wrong. Neither one of us is either. He prefers a more cooked pasta, I prefer a more firm one. No one says "you're wrong ifyou like choclate cake, but not lemon cake," do they (OK, I do that too).

Knife with a pasta? You know, it kind of skeeves me, but for heaven's sake, whatever works for you. Remember that there was a time when people didn't use cutlery at all. GET OVER IT.

I could go on and on and on. And I know, I usually do. But I want to focus on one dish today, which to me sort of typifies how all of these "rules'" are artificial. And that's linguine with white clam sauce. One of my favorite dishes.

Clams. Chunky or smooth? No brainer. So why are we using long pasta? Hmmmmmmm? No butter in this sauce, it's olive oil based. So why are we using long pasta? Hmmmmmmm?
You will NEVER find a restaurant serving "fusilli with clam sauce," or "rotelli with clam sauce." But I KNOW you've heard both of those rules. And frankly, if you want to use them with clams, by all means, use them.

So, let's make that dish . It is really, REALLY easy. Here's my version. You need six clams per person, the smallest ones you can find. Wash them in cold water, and rub them to make sure they're not dirty or that they don't have "stuff" stuck to their shells. That "stuff" will come off in the cooking. You will also need one or two cloves of garlic per person, and also 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil per person. I like using a handful of chopped parsley and I also like a tablespoon of hot red pepper in mine. You can leave these out. Some people like fennel and its fronds. That's also good. Finally, you are also going to need a liquid of some kind, about half to three quarters of a cup. White wine is traditional. If you feel uncomfortable with wine in your sauce, use chicken stock, or clam juice. Keep all of these ingredients at the side. Get a BIG, wide pan ready, and put it on the burner next to the pot where you're going to cook your pasta. I allocate a quarter pound of dry pasta per person, which many Italians will say is too much pasta, but I find it's the right size for me and my crew. I cover the pot to get the water boiling faster, and when it comes to the boil, I add two tablespoons of salt. I put in the pasta and stir it. When the pasta begins to go down in the pot, I cover it, but not completely, until the water comes back to the boil (if you cover it all the way, the starch will climb up, push its way out of the pot, and you will have a mess like you've never seen before).

As soon as you start cooking the pasta, put the flame on under the pan and add the olive oil. When it's hot, add the peeled garlic cloves. I don't chop them, but you can if you like. Then add your other vegetable ingredients. Finally, toss in your clams, and add your liquid. Cover that pan TIGHTLY, and lower the heat.

Some of the clams are going to start opening after about three-five minutes, and some are going to be more recalcitrant. After ten minutes, if there are any that aren't opened....

I bet you thought I was going to say throw them out. NOPE. You're going to do something first. Take a small knife and push the tip of it into the wide part of the clam. See, sometimes the clams die so fast that they don't get a chance to open. The trigger of the knife gets them to open. Do this at ten, and at fifteen minutes of cooking. Then, and only then, should you toss unopened clams. You spent the money for them, don't throw away good food.

By now, your pasta is just about ready. What I do is I scoop out half a cup of pasta water and put it to the side. Then I get a big spoon or tongues, and ladle the pasta into the clams and sauce. If you don't have those tools, drain the pasta into a colander and then toss it into the sauce and clams. Stir it around. If it doesn't look "soupy" enough for you ,add some of the pasta water until you have it where you want it. It should be salty enough, too. Leave the clams in their shells, and serve the dish in big bowls, preferably with some toast and a place for people to toss their shells, as they pull out the clams. This is a dish for families and friends, it ain't pretty and it ain't polite.

Ok, now with this dish I have to tackle the last rule: cheese and fish. Oh, heavens, does this one give Annalena grief. Several of Annalena's friends take a good dose of parmesan in this preparation, and there are others where, (sigh), there are cream sauces with scallops, with cheese over them, or smoked salmon (which most assuredly is NOT Italian), with mascarpone cheese, or shrimp with ricotta.

So, here's Annalena's position on this. Not in my house. Sorry, but no, no no no no. This is one where I draw the line. I happen to think this rule is correct, and the taste of cheese with fish on pasta is very repellant to me. I of course cannot control what you do in your own home, and you should always make sure that you cook to suit yourself. But in someone else's home, be a gentleman or a gentlewoman. If it's a fish based sauce, and you are not offered cheese, dont ask for it. Endure your suffering, and perhaps you can ask your host if he will serve some of his delicious parmesan cheese with the dessert course. Annalena will always do it.

Sorry Keith. I couldn't do it. But if we make it at your house, put all the cheese on it you like. I won't even make a face. :)