Mussels and Clams over shell pasta

By DebCooks

If you love fresh seafood this is a great dish to try.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb shell pasta
• 1 lb broccoli, cut into florets
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 3 garlic clovers, minced
• 1/8 teas red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teas kosher salt
• 1/4 teas freshly ground pepper
• 2 lbs small little neck clams, scrubbed
• 2 lbs mussels, debearded
• 1 c white wine
• 1/3 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 6 minutes. Add the broccoli into the pasta water and continue cooking until the pasta is tender but firm to the bite and broccoli is blanched about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 c of the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile in a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Add the clams, mussels and wine. Cook for 5 minutes, making sure all the shells have opened. Discard any shells that have not opened. I covered the pan and the steam opened all of them. Sprinkle with parsley.
In a large bowl, toss the pasta, broccoli and shellfish. Add the reserved pasta water 1/4c at a time to moisten. I only used 1/4 c of the water. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.