Combine classic pasta and a favourite old cake for a spring lunch full of bright colours and vivid flavours
Mussels, ribbons of pasta, herbs and cream is a perfect marriage for a spring lunch. I sometimes fill a puff-pastry case with such an assembly or present it in a white porcelain dish with a splodge of creamy potato in the retro style of coquille St Jacques. (And when exactly did I last see that on a menu?) The mixture of shellfish and cream is one of my favourite pasta sauces, especially when I take a few minutes to remove the mussels from their shells.
Any aniseed-scented herbs work, chervil or tarragon being good dill alternatives, but also fennel fronds. I even used celery the last time I made this, but you can also finely chop a bulb of fennel instead, letting it cook for a few minutes before you add the vermouth or white wine. You could also swap the mussels for clams, if you are the sort of person who doesn’t mind extricating the little chaps from their shells as you eat. Continue reading…
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