Shellfish and Herb Pasta Recipe

The subtlety of the fresh herb, tomato, and shellfish sauce will appeal to any pasta lover!

This subtle sauce is great for people who don't eat onion or garlic. There should be sufficient salt in the shellfish to make additional salt unnecessary.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅓ to ½ pound Italian sausage, crumbled
• 1 large pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1½ pounds Italian plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 teaspoon chopped lemongrass (optional)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 16 littleneck clams
• 16 cleaned mussels
• 1 pound linguine

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large pot, add the sausage, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add the pepper and tomatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes soften and form a sauce. Stir in the lemongrass, if using, basil, parsley, clams, and mussels. Cover the pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the shellfish open. Remove them from the pan and set aside. Check the sauce to see if it is the consistency you with. If not, boil it down, stirring constantly, and combine with the shellfish.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pasta and salt. When it is cooked through but still firm (al dente), drain it and immediately toss with the shellfish sauce.