Prepare it with only mussels, with only clams, with various types of clams, make it for two of you or for all of you. Carry a great, steamy pot of it outdoors to a table set with candles and backlit by the moon on a cool, almost cold evening, everyone nuzzled in sweaters but still in shorts and sandals, hungry, tired, perhaps, happy. Serve it then, just the way it is offered in the tiny taverns and six-table houses that look to the sea between Amalfi and Positano.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
With a mezzaluna or a very sharp knife, mince the garlic, fennel, and parsley to a fine paste.
Step 2
In a very large terra-cotta or enameled cast-iron casserole over a medium flame, warm 1/3 cup of the olive oil and very lightly sauté the paste in it. Add the chile, tomatoes, sea salt, and the wine, bringing all to a simmer. Lower the flame a bit and continue to cook for 5 minutes, reducing the wine and softening the tomatoes. Add the clams and mussels to the simmering sauce, poaching them until they are all opened.
Step 3
Warm the remaining 1 cup of olive oil and brown the bread in it, letting it drain a moment on absorbent paper towels before placing it in a napkin-lined basket.
Step 4
At just the point when all the shellfish have opened, remove the casserole from the flame, stir in the vinegar, and carry it to the table along with the basket of fried bread.
