Recipe Nick Cummins, Urban Bounty Catering, Hobart

Serving size: Serves 4
Cuisine type: Mediterranean
Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes
Course: Main
Favourite flavours: Easy recipes, Seafood

Australian House & Garden recipe for vongole with garlic, chilli and basil.

INGREDIENTS

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 red capsicum, cut into 1cm dice
1 long red chilli, seeded and chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
100ml chicken or fish stock
100ml white wine
½ cup loosely packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 spring onions, sliced
1kg vongole (baby clams) or mussels
Crusty bread, to serve

METHOD

1 Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy-based frypan over high heat. When oil is very hot, add tomatoes and capsicum and cook for 1min, without stirring, to allow to char. Reduce heat to medium and add chilli and garlic. Stir for 1min then add stock and wine. Simmer 3-5mins or until tomatoes soften. Stir in basil, parsley and spring onion. Set aside.

2 Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid (large enough to comfortably accommodate clams) over high heat; and clams and replace lid. When clams have opened, about 5mins, remove with a slotted spoon. Stir clams through tomato sauce. Serve with crusty bread.