Linguine

Mussels, Beer, Leeks

Linguine or "little tongues" was my favorite shape growing up. My grandmother would make one of the best linguine in clam sauces I've ever had, and it was all done with canned clams and clam juice. Simple, clean, and tasty. The shape itself is from Liguria where it was used mostly with pestos and seafood based sauces. It's a lot like a skinny fettuccine but retains a little bit of an oval shape when you look at it's cross section - making some people believe it's a squished spaghetti. Either way, this unique shape gives it a nice chew when cooked al dente and is one that brings back some really great memories.

Since leeks are still in season, I wanted to pay tribute to them one last time with one of my favorite ingredient pairings - mussels. This very basic and traditional Belgian mussels broth is packed with the kind of flavor that you usually want to sop up with a giant loaf of bread. Which you can still enjoy, but it also works piled high on top of fresh pasta. So if you want to mix two countries with very little connecting them other than a continent, give this recipe a whirl. 

Servings: 4 - Time: ~30 minutes - Difficulty: 1 - Itsa Easy

Ingredients & Mise en Place

16 oz. fresh spinach linguine
2 lbs. p.e.i. mussels - beards removed and scrubbed - mussels with broken shells discarded
24 oz. (2 bottles) peroni - or other light european lager
3 leeks - thoroughly cleaned - whites halved and cut into ½ inch slices
6 garlic cloves - diced
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
⅛ cup heavy cream
1 cup flat italian parsley - loosely chopped and packed
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Directions

In a large stock pot over medium heat add leeks, garlic, and butter. Season with salt and pepper and cover and sweat for ~5 minutes.

Bring a separate large deep stockpot of heavily salted water to a boil.

Add mussels and beer to the pot with the leeks and butter and turn the burner up to medium-high heat. Cover and steam until the shells open, stirring occasionally for around 5 minutes. Once the mussels have opened, remove from heat and allow the shells to chill. Once cool enough to handle remove the mussels from the shells and place back into the beer broth and keep warm over low heat.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook about 2-3 minutes for fresh linguine. Once cooked al dente, strain and add to a large sauté pan. Using a slotted spoon, add mussels, leeks, a few ladles of broth and olive oil (to taste). The pasta is still warm and acting like a sponge, so you don’t want to add too much or else you will create a soggy pasta.

Divide into four portions and add a little more broth to each bowl. Top with fresh parsley and lemon wedges.