Nolita Clam, Mango and Gorgonzola Pasta

It’s a throwback Thursday, whip-lashing back to my earlier months in New York. This is a recipe that I had put together in the spring of last year. Walking through Nolita, everything was new, fresh and inspiring. The streets of Little Italy were crowded with tables full of sun kissed diners, enjoying seafood, pasta and wine. What more could anyone ask for? With this In mind, I made my way to the busy markets in Chinatown wanting to capture my day, the images in my head, all in a meal. I wanted spring in a bottle.

Chinatown in a strange way always provides some kind of nostalgic comfort; the markets, the grocers, the people, hell, even the smell. I’ll come back to that when I post on some of my Chinese go-to dishes. I made my way through, buying fresh clams and mangoes. I wanted to match this freshness with something a little more Italian, so I decided on pasta.

I chose Gorgonzola cheese and asparagus to pair tart with the sweetness of mangoes, butter and wine poached clams and cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients

Serves four

Spaghetti

1 pound of Clams

½ Mango

1 bunch of Asparagus

1 punnet of Cherry Tomatoes

3 tbsp chopped Parsley

½ cup Gorgonzola Cheese

2 tbsp Salted Butter

1 cup of White Wine

Truffle Sea Salt and Pepper

Directions

In a pan, heat wine and butter until lightly boiling. Add clams, one tablespoon of parsley and a pinch of truffle sea salt. Cook for eight minutes. Cut cherry tomatoes into halves and add during last moments of cooking. Blanch and shock asparagus in cool water, then grill on a high temperature, charring the stalks lightly. Slice mango into small pieces, set aside. Cook the pasta quickly, al dente.

While the pasta is warm, add clams and 2 tablespoons of reduced wine broth. Follow with chopped parsley and mango pieces. Toss and season with truffle salt and pepper to taste. Plate pasta in swirls on top of a bed of asparagus and top with gorgonzola cheese.