128: Linguine alla vongole, p52

Apologies for the break in service, been in Singapore at a conference, and just got back to cooking this weekend. Mmm, chilli crab at the East Coast Park in Singapore has to go down in history as one of the best meals I've ever had. Elbow deep in sauce, bits of shell flying everywhere, and zero conversation as we all chowed down. Bliss! Don't get crab like those over here...

Om nom nom!!

Linguine alla vongole is one of my favourite dishes, I love clams and I love pasta with oil and garlic and chilli. Happy! Even better news is that my boss tipped me off about a wonderful fishmonger/butcher in Twickenham, 10mins down the road by bus, called Sandy's - and I finally made a trip there yesterday, only to find it's as close to foodie heaven as I've encountered in a long while - full of the most amazing selection of seafood, fishes, game, etc etc. And perfect for Nigelling! Big juicy English Venus clams purchased for this recipe and the next one, and not a single dud amongst them. Even T, who claims not to like clams, agreed that these were rather nice... The addition of the vermouth to the recipe gave it an interesting sweetness, not a bad thing, but unexpected - and you wouldn't get that if you used the alternative suggested, white wine. An excellent chilli hit too from the freshly ground dried chilli, lovely! To be repeated...