Linguine with white wine clam sauce

I had written earlier about how hard it is to find white pasta sauces in Turkey, especially those without cream. I went to Pastarito on Friday. I looked for a white wine clam suace linguine, but no luck. Instead I orderd a shrimp lemon risotto as I was looking for something light, with seafood and hints of citrus, everything you would find a good white wine clam sauce. So I made it at home tonight. Here is the recipe:

From foodplay

Heat a medium to large sized skillet.
Add 1/4 cup olive oil. When the oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon of butter and melt it in the oil.
Add 1 small finely chopped onion and cook for a minute. Add 5 cloves of garlic, also finely chopped and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
Add 1 cup of chicken broth or clam juice if available, and 375 ml (half a bottle) of dry white wine.
Mix in 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes (optional). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.
Add 1/4 lb cleaned clams (or mussels) and 1/4 lb of peeled and deveined medium sized shrimp. I would rather cook this with clams in their shells and with no shrimp but this is all that I could find.
Mix in 1/4 cup of chopped parsley and cook for about 3 minutes or so- be sure not to overcook the seafood! Remove from the stove.

To serve, you have two options. In the first option, you can simply cook the pasta according to the directions on the box, place a serving of pasta on a plate and pour the sauce over. Garnish with chopped parsley, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese.

In the second option, which is highly recommended, you can cook the pasta one minute less than the time given on the box. Drain the pasta and add several servings into your skillet with the sauce and toss the pasta to coat it with the sauce. Then place your servings on plates and garnish with chopped parsley, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese.

From foodplay

Membrillo and Manchego

Quince is a difficult fruit with surprises. It's not easy to eat fresh. And it's cooked taste doesn't resemble anything of the raw fruit. My grandmother used to make quince marmalade. I used to miss this when I lived the in the US and could not find a substitute for it. The only thing that came close to was membrillo, or also known as quince cheese, the spanish sweet accompaniment to sharp cheeses. Membrillo is just like quince marmalade but indeed like cheese as you can make it in blocks and slice it to create the perfect marriage between a slice of manchego (or Turkish aged kasar cheese if you can't find manchego) and this sweet, fruity jelly with citrus and vanilla hints. Here is the recipe I used for membrillo:

From foodplay

Peel, core and slice 5 large quinces. If you don't care so much about a transparent clean look you can leave them unpeeled.
Place them in a big pot together with some lemon peel (about 5 centimeters, or two inches long)
Bring to boil and simmer them for about 30 minutes in just enough water to cover the slices.
After thirty minutes the quince should be very soft, if not, boil for another 10 minutes.
Fish out the lemon peel and mash the quince, either through a seeve, with potato masher or an electric blender.
Measure how much the pure is in terms of volume and return the mash into the pot
Add an equal amount of sugar, probably around 600 gr for 5 large quinces
Add the juice of half a lemon
Add a teaspoon of vanilla powder
Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar and to keep the membrillo from burning. Becareful about the bubbles as the mash gets thicker. Once the color is turned into a dark orange or red and the consistency is right, turn off the heat and prepare for molding.
You can check the consistency by placing some mash on the back of a wooden spoon or spatula and running your finger through it. If the two sides stay separate and don't ooze back into each other then you are done.

Lightly grease a shallow baking pan, ideally with sharp corners. I used butter to grease mine. Pour the mixture into it and let it set. Once it cools, place in the refrigerator for a few hours for it to further set.

You can then slice your membrillo in square blocks and wrap them in wax paper or clear plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

From foodplay

Serve with your favorite sharp cheese. Must try it with manchego. I also like it with brie and camembert.

Shrimp Tapa with Chilis and Garlic

We used to have shrimp cook-off nights when I lived in Washington DC. Unfortunately it's hard to find the right size of shrimp in Turkey, but I finally found a website from where I can order the perfect sized shrimp. So I start my series of shrimp tapas recipes.



The first recipe is a very simple Spanish influenced recipe that is adaptable for different variations. It is very important that you have the right size of shrimp and adjust your cooking accordingly. The trick is to not overcook the shrimp while still achieving the right color.

Wash, peel and de-vein 8 medium or large sized shrimp.

Chopped 1 dried chili, and wash two dried chillies
Coarsely chop three cloves of garlic, or you can slice them lengthwise
Optional few small slivers of fresh ginger
Chop 3 scallions into 3cm pieces

Heat a medium sized stick pan- It's better not to use teflon because it may start smoking
When the pan is hot, add 1/4 cup of olive oil
Optionally, you can also add 1-2 tablespoons for butter for additional flavor
Add the garlic and chili, and ginger if desired, after a minute or two, when the oil is hot but not smoking
Cook for two to three minutes
Add the shrimp when the oil is still hot but not smoking, reduce heat to medium
Do not touch the shrimp so they form a crust on the bottom- leave them alone for two minutes.
Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper
Using a spatula, flip the shrimp and slightly stir the rest to avoid burning the garlic and chilis
Add the green onions, and cook for another 30 secs or so. The shrimp was already cooked for the most part, this is just to add color again.



Place in a bowl. Decorate with chopped green onions and dill and serve while hot. Make sure to prepare some bread on the side to dip in the juice. The juice from the shrimp, mixed with olive oil infused with garlic, chili and ginger is not to be missed!