Chef notes
Nick Lama, chef and owner of Avo in New Orleans, creates amazing flavor in his dish of Linguine with Clams and Mussels thanks to a homemade salsa verde. Salsa verde is a "green sauce" made with chopped and smashed herbs like parsley, plus garlic and olive oil.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons flat leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chervil
- 2 tablespoons chives
- 2 tablespoons fennel fronds
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons mint
- 1 cup pure olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 tablespoon fresh garlic, diced
- 3 shallots, diced
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1½ cups dry white wine
- 20 littleneck clams, rinsed
- 1 pound linguine
- 20 mussels, rinsed, beard removed (preferably from Prince Edward Island)
Preparation
Make the Salsa Verde: Chop all of the herbs together except the mint. In a mortar and pestle, smash the chopped herbs. Gradually add oil until you make a paste. Smash the capers and garlic before adding them to the herbs. Chop the mint and add it last. Smash into a paste. Once the paste is made, add the rest of the oil and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Make the Linguine with Clams and Mussels: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. In a large sauté pan, sweat garlic and shallots in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the red pepper flakes and deglaze the pan with wine. Add the clams and cover with lid. Drop pasta in boiling water. After 4 minutes, add mussels to pan with clams and cover. Check every few minutes till all clams and mussels pop open. Discard any that will not open.
Finish the dish: Toss pasta with mussels and clams and stir in 1/4 cup of the Salsa Verde. Serve immediately.