While I was at university in London I lived in Dagenham, which, as you may or may not know is a bit of a dive. This did not deter me from seeking out places to find great food, in fact it made finding those little corners of heaven even more special. For example I wasn't far from Ilford Lane which is full of wonderful Indian restaurants and shops including the fantastic Durga Sweets and adjacent restaurant. One day I fancied a really good Italian meal and had seen an unassuming looking restaurant on the way to nearby Romford so a friend and I thought we'd give it a try.
Like Dagenham it was a bit shabby round the edges but the people were really friendly. The specials menu looked promising and as usual I chose the most expensive thing on it! This was the spaghetti marinara (that's seafood pasta for those of you who have been misled by the American restaurant business who seem to think that tomatoes and basil are marine food!) I hoped and prayed that it would be full of fresh seafood rather than the tinned tuna and frozen prawns that haunts so many interpretations of this dish.
The first thing to arrive at the table was a bucket. A huge, white, enamel covered, metal bucket. This was for the shells. Next was a bowl with warm water and lemon slices that could not really be described as a finger bowl as it was large enough to put both my hands and forarms in! I was quite excited by now as there was surely going to be a decent amount of shell cracking and crevice sucking to be coming my way!
I was not disapointed, the pasta arrived, a steaming bowl of spaghetti in a rich, garlicy tomato sauce piled high with huge mussels, fresh prawns, clams, langoustine, and tender squid rings. I dug in pulling shellfish from their homes and slurping the tomato sauce out of the shells. I crushed the langoustine claws in my teeth and found every last piece of the sweet flesh. And my bucket gradually filled up! I love this kind of eating, I love the challenge of getting to your food and the pleasure that can only come from eating out of your fingers. My boyfriend once noticed a couple in a seafood restaurant eating a shellfish platter with a knife and fork, and, after having just devoured the same dish without touching my cutlery I wanted to go over and tell them what they were missing. But I was pleased of the 'hand' bowl as the tomato sauce seemed to have made its way as far as my wrists while I was busy decapitating prawns!
I have come to believe that wherever you go there is always good food to be had. It may be in the most unlikely of places but just like the last piece of meat in a langousine claw the trouble you take in seeking it out makes it all the more delicious.
My seafood pasta: Serves 4
For the tomato sauce:
1 tin tomatoes
3 tblsp tomato puree
5 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 dried red chilli, broken a little (if really hot, seeds removed, you want warmth not volcanic spice)
Generous amount of olive oil
2 tblsp chopped capers
good glug of white wine
salt and black pepper
pinch sugar
handful of chopped parsley
3 chopped anchovies
The seafood:
Selection of live shellfish: 500g mussels, 16 langoustines, 300g live clams
200g shell on prawns
2 smallish cleaned squid body sliced into thin rings, tenticles into managable pieces
small glass of white wine
400g spaghetti
* First of all prepare the live shell fish. Clean well in running water, scrub the shells removing any barnacles and put the langoustine in the freezer for 1/2 hour to kill them humanely. Heat the white wine in a large saucepan with 200ml water and bring to a boil. Add the langousine and cook for a couple of minutes, add the clams and cook for 3-4 minutes more, then add the mussels and cook until all the mussels and clams are open, about 5 minutes. If any refuse to open then throw them away.
* Strain off the cooking liquid and reserve.
* Now make the sauce. Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan. Do not get it hot, just warm.
*Add the garlic and chilli and cook incredibly gently for 2 mins just to release the flavour into the oil. Do not brown.
* Add the anchovies and cook 1 minute more
* Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, capers, salt, pepper, sugar, the glug of white wine and simmer and reduce until you have a thick rich sauce, about 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
* Add the cooking liquor from the shell fish (discarding any grit) and simmer for a further 15 mins.
* Meanwhile cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling water
* Add the shell on prawns to the tomato sauce and cook until just pink. Add the squid and cook for 1 minute.
* Add the rest of the seafood and warm through, sprinkle with parsley
* Drain the pasta and toss through the sauce and seafood
* Serve with some crusty bread to mop up the juices if liked
