Abi and Sadhbh say: Shellfish may be one of the best sources of haem iron a non-red-meat eater can get. Mussels have been calculated to have a far lower carbon footprint from farming than many other sources of animal proteins, the formation of their shells even sequesters carbon. Growing up on the Atlantic coast, we occasionally picked fresh mussels or periwinkles for dinner. This recipe is adapted from the classic Italian dish of spaghetti alle vongole.

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus soaking

Cook time: 10–15 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients

500g mussels and/or clams (MSC or highest sustainability assurance available)
2 tbsp sea salt
150g wholemeal spelt spaghetti (or 200g fresh, wholewheat linguine)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3–4 garlic cloves, sliced
100g cherry or vine tomatoes, quartered
½ mild red chilli, chopped, or ½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
100ml white wine (optional)
Small bunch of parsley, stalks finely chopped and leaves
roughly chopped
Juice of ½ lemon, plus extra wedges to serve
Ground black pepper
Dried chilli flakes, to serve

Method

Clean and sort through the mussels and/or clams, removing any with broken shells or those that don’t close when they’re tapped. Place them all in a deep bowl of cold water with 1 tablespoon of salt for 30 minutes. Any that float to the top should be discarded. If they’re freshly hand-picked from rocks, you’ll need to de-beard them, too, which entails pulling off the fibrous hairs that they produce to attach to rocks.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, and once boiling add the remaining tablespoon salt. Add the pasta when the water is bubbling and cook until the pasta is al dente – this is 6–8 minutes for wholemeal spelt pasta, but will be only a few minutes for fresh pasta. The salt stops the pasta from sticking together, and contrary to popular belief, oil isn’t needed when boiling pasta.

In a large, wide-based pan with a fitted lid, heat the olive oil, then add the garlic and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and chilli, if using, followed by the mussels and/or clams. Add a little water or the white wine at this point, if using, and give it a good shake to stop the tomatoes sticking. Put the lid on and steam the shellfish for 3–4 minutes until they open. If any of the shells remain closed after cooking, throw them away. This is an indicator they aren’t edible.

Drain the cooked spaghetti and gently stir it into the pan of lightly cooked tomatoes, garlic and shellfish. Sprinkle over the parsley. Squeeze the lemon juice. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges and a sprinkle of dried chilli flakes, if you want an extra kick.

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