Seafood and Asparagus Shells

Conchiglie pasta is perfect for holding the sauce and asparagus is a delicious tribute to spring. Here is an Italian recipe to prepare seafood shells with asparagus:

Ingredients

• 350 g of shell-shaped pasta (conchiglie)
• 1 bunch of fresh asparagus
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 250 g of cleaned mussels
• 250 g of cleaned clams
• 200 g of shelled shrimps or prawns
• 150 ml of dry white wine
• Chopped fresh parsley, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Start by cleaning the asparagus: remove the woody part of the stem and then cut them into pieces, keeping the tips whole.
2. In a large frying pan, sauté the chopped garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Add the asparagus and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, purify the clams and mussels by leaving them in salted water for at least an hour, then rinse them under running water.
4. Add the mussels and clams to the pan with the asparagus, then pour in the white wine. Cover and let them open over high heat.
5. Once opened, remove the clams and mussels from the pan and strain the cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl to remove any sand residue.
6. In a separate pan, cook the shrimps with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt until they turn pink, then combine them with the clams and mussels.
7. Cook the shell pasta in plenty of salted water according to package instructions, then drain the pasta keeping aside a cup of the cooking water.
8. Combine the pasta with the seafood and asparagus sauce, heat over medium heat adding a little of the reserved cooking water if necessary, to make the sauce creamier.
9. Serve, top with chopped fresh parsley, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and immediately serve with a final grinding of black pepper.

A tip: seafood releases intense and salty flavors, so adjust the salt carefully.

Curiosity

This dish is a perfect marriage of land and sea, very much loved in the Italian coastal regions. Particularly in spring, when asparagus is in season, it becomes a popular choice to celebrate the early warmth and the abundance of the sea.