A Seafood Spaghetti to Share with Ellie Bouhadana

Method

Prepare the seafood

Clean the clams

1. Place the clams in a bowl and cover with cold water to soak out any sand or dirt for 30 minutes.
2. Pull the clams from the water, making sure the sand sinks to the bottom of the water and place them into a new bowl. Discard the sandy water.

Clean the prawns

1. Hold the prawn in your hand and gently twist the head to remove it. Place the head in a bowl and keep to the side.
2. Go underneath the prawn where the legs are attached, dig your thumb under the shell where the head once was to release the shell then pull the shell off. Remove the tail with a gentle pull. Keep the shells and tails in the bowl with the prawn heads.
3. Place the naked prawn on a cutting board and devein by running your paring knife along the back (try not to slice too deep), then pull out the thin black vein and discard.
4. Repeat this process with the rest of the prawns. Then slice each prawn into three or four pieces and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

For the stock

1. Place a large, heavy-based saucepan with a lid over a low heat, pour in the olive oil and add the onion, garlic and bay leaf.
2. Stir and cook until the onion and garlic has softened and become translucent and fragrant. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
3. Increase the heat slightly to a medium-high flame, then add the prawn heads and shells and cook, pressing down on the heads to release their juices into the pan.
4. Pour in the wine, let it all bubble abruptly and cook like this for two minutes to cook off the alcohol.
5. Pour enough water over the prawn heads to cover them plus a little extra, turn the heat up slightly and bring to a boil for two minutes.
6. Turn the heat down to medium-low and leave the stock to simmer gently with the lid partially on for about 15-20 minutes. Every so often check on the stock, give it a stir and press down on the heads again until the stock is rich and delicious.
7. When the stock is ready, strain the onions and prawn heads out from the liquid and discard them, keeping the stock to the side until you are ready to use it.

For the sauce and pasta

1. Place a pot full of water over a high heat and bring to the boil.
2. Place a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is very hot, add the sardines into the pan and fry on both sides until just cooked through. Remove from the pan and leave to the side.
3. Once the water is boiling, season with salt and stir (the water should taste well seasoned, but you should not recoil from salt overload). Add the spaghetti into the pot and cook the pasta until it is al dente, meaning that it is cooked through but still has some bite to it and is not at all soft (this is usually about two minutes before the recommended finishing time listed on the package of pasta.)
4. Pour another three tablespoons of olive oil into the pan in which you just cooked the sardines and add in the garlic and chilli and gently fry over a low heat. Once the garlic has turned golden and smells fragrant add the clams into the pan, pour in the wine, toss briefly then place a lid over the pan. Leave the clams to pop open, this should take about five minutes. As the individual clams pop up, pull them out of the pan and place them on a plate to the side. If there are any clams that do not fully open, throw them out.
5. Once all the clams have opened and are sitting to the side, add the prawn meat into the pan and stir. Pour in the prawn head stock and cook over medium heat, keeping the sauce at a steady simmer for about five minutes.
6. Using tongs, pull the spaghetti out of the water and place it directly into the pan, along with 1⁄8 cup of pasta water, a handful of parsley and a glug of olive oil. Stir and toss the pan energetically with tongs or a wooden spoon to emulsify and create a silky sauce.
7. Serve the pasta right away on a big platter, with the sardines placed over the top and another glug of olive oil.