Noodles with clams

How to make a seafood casserole with noodles and clams . I present you a pasta recipe with a very marine style because we accompany it with clams.

This recipe is the first published on the blog and that we have prepared at home a lot of times, it is always a guaranteed victory.

The noodle casserole with clams is one of the pasta recipes that are most often served in restaurants on the Galician coast. Although I have seen this almost identical dish in Andalusia. I imagine, as I do not know, that it will be a popular recipe throughout Spain.

The basis of this simple recipe lies in the quality of the ingredients, a good sofrito and a quality homemade broth that gives it all its sea flavor. Although it has noodles it does not look like fideuá , although it does share many of its ingredients. The preparation is different, it varies as much as a dry rice to a soupy rice .

The noodles in this case should not be dry and it is taken very hot like any pasta dish, better freshly made. Although if we have a little left over, the next day it can be reheated over low heat and we will take it almost dry, but very good in flavor.

This recipe is simple, affordable and very successful, perfect for the whole year. And the best of all is that you can version with what you have at home, it admits other ingredients, some fish that you have on hand, sometimes simply with artichokes or shrimp. Imagination to the power.

Clams and mussels. Preparation of the base of the noodles

1. We leave the clams at least an hour before in water so that they release the soil they can bring.
2. We clean the clams and mussels, discarding those that are already open, as they may be bad.
3. Peel the garlic clove and chop it as best as possible. We reserve. Chop the onion and the bell peppers very fine so that they melt in the cooking. It is important not to notice its texture but the flavor it gives to the noodles.
4. We remove the skin from the tomato and cut into 4 parts, reserve.
5. In a clay pot with virgin olive oil add the onion, garlic, bell peppers and tomato, all minced to taste. When this sofrito is poached, add a little white wine (half a glass, 150 ml.).
6. We let everything cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until the wine is reduced.
7. In a separate saucepan we pour a little water, about 150 ml. and we put some bay leaves. Add the clams and mussels over medium heat to open.
8. We discard those that remain closed. Once the shellfish are open, we reserve them. We strain the water from the cooking and set it aside in a cup.

Final preparation of the casserole of noodles and clams. Final presentation

1. In the pan of the sofrito we dizzy the noodles for a while, we combine them well with a wooden spoon. Then we add the water of the clams and mussels and a little more water to boil the noodles (they are 350 g. Of noodle with which it would arrive with 2 glasses of water, 600 ml. Approximately, including the water of the molluscs that we have reserved ).
2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. After 10 minutes, when the noodles are ready (we can try it, it is best that they are al dente), add the clams in their shell, the mussels without shell, parsley, a couple of saffron threads and salt to taste.
4. Let it cook over low heat for a few minutes and serve hot, with enough broth to eat with a spoon.

And remember that these noodles like most spoon dishes are much better the next day.

Be sure to enjoy all the recipes for fish and seafood that we have on the blog. You can see all the step by step photos of the recipe for these clam noodles   in this album. Do not lose detail and they will be perfect.

Tips for a yummy noodle casserole

• We have calculated about 90 grams of noodles per person, so we will have enough to enjoy a good dish and then repeat. The ideal is to use thick noodles of nº 1, of the normal ones, but also those that have a hollow center, typical of the fideuá , serve .
• It is a dish that increases in price for clams, as the rest of the ingredients are very cheap. But it will always depend on the variety of clams that you are going to use, here according to the pocket and taste of each one. If you do not have much money, the Japanese clam is the cheapest and will give that sea flavor that we are looking for.
• Leave with some extra broth in the casserole to eat with a spoon and very warm on the table. At home we like to prepare this “soupy” dish, to eat with a spoon and then to be able to weigh it with the bread in the sauce. Although it can be adapted to the tastes of each house.
• It does not take long, in less than an hour you will have the recipe ready. But if you are in a hurry you can replace the fish stock with a commercial one that is of quality. Although here I leave you how you can make homemade fish broth . It is also very simple and can be frozen to always have it ready.