Clams and Mussels with Pasta (and Asparagus!)

Every recipe lately starts with chopping up some asparagus. This one is no exception. I got a bag of mussels and clams at the greenmarket Saturday and figured I had better get them cooked up, since I had no idea how they keep. I asked the fish guy for instructions and he said, "a spoon of garlic, some wine or beer, a stick of butter and once they open up, add the pasta."

Here are my shellfish in the pan ready for steaming. I decided I would use wine (naturally), probably a little more than a half cup. Perhaps a cup (which was too much). I started with 5 cloves of garlic, minced and frying in a little olive oil. I covered them up and they steamed open in no time.

Since this was just for me, I figured I should go ahead and do the work of shucking before the dish was finished. I am still not certain about storing leftover mussels in the shell. Not only is the presentation less impressive, the true quantity of meat is less impressive.

I boiled up the whole wheat fettuccine, also from the farmers' market (same place as the ravioli, previous). At the end, I added the asparagus for a minute or two.

I returned the clam sauce (wine) to the pan and added the juice and zest of a lemon and a little mustard, going for a version of the lemon vinaigrette that I liked earlier in the week. It was good, perhaps a little too much lemon and wasn't reducing any too quickly. I added the noodles and asparagus, but then did not want to wait a year for it to thicken and turn my asparagus to mush. I whisked some flour into a couple of drops of wine and stirred it in. Voila!

***Hideous picture removed*** It wasn't _that_ ugly.

Less wine, less lemon, less gritty pasta. Maybe I would do it again. Those scallops are hard to beat, though.

Update: I conferred with my favorite New Englander and his dad and learned that mussels and clams have different cooking times, so I hurt my mussels by cooking them together. I need to give the clams at least a minute or two head start. Also, I should have soaked the shellfish in some fresh water to clean them, not just left them in the bottom of my fridge in a plastic bag. I may try a new recipe for clams. Maybe.

Verdict: B
Credits: My local fishmonger.
Leftovers? Yes, and they were good cold on this blistering hot day.

Notes: I used the juice of a whole lemon, but half would be plenty. Also, if I would have waited a little longer, the noodles would have soaked up some sauce and I wouldn't have needed to thicken it. Impatience.