Clam Pasta with Chorizo and Walnuts by Alison Roman

And Alison does it again – completely exceeds my seafood expectations and makes me want to cook whatever crustacean she uses, again and again. I’ve never once thought clams were appetizing. I’ve never once craved them. Even after living in San Francisco for two years – home of the clam chowder & sourdough bread bowl – I avoided clams with gusto. 

With the same trepidation, I approached the seafood counter at Cub to order two pounds of littleneck clams. I watched the soft-spoken man behind the counter take his time adding clams to the scale, wishing I wasn’t spending $18 on the little guys. But alas, all for the project! 

First step was to toast the walnuts, whole, in the oven at 350. I find that it takes about 13 minutes to get a sufficient toasting, as opposed to the 8-10 minutes Alison suggests. Or it could just be my oven. Alison frequently asks for toasted nuts, and I capitalize on this by toasting more than called for so I can eat the rest as a snack! Once the nuts cooled, I could chop them into tiny nibs to make the gremolata. For those curious, Google says that gremolata is “a dressing or garnish made with chopped parsley, garlic, and grated lemon zest, served as an accompaniment to meat or fish.” And that’s exactly what I mixed with the walnuts: parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. 

Thirty minutes before dinnertime, I started cooking the chorizo, a task I always find annoying because it takes far too much effort to break up the meat in the skillet. Remind me next time to crumble it by hand before putting it in the pan. Meanwhile, I cooked the pasta (corn & brown rice pasta) in a pot of unsalted water. Once the chorizo was just browned through, I added another 4 cloves of minced garlic and let them get nicely aromatic. 

Quickly after, the clams were ready to join the fun. I placed the lid on the pan and shook it every 20 seconds for 3 minutes. That’s all it took for the clams to open and warm through. So easy! I added the cooked pasta straight from the pot with tongs, just as Alison suggested, along with over a cup of the pasta water. For the next 5 minutes, Madeline took over and vigorously shook the skillet as the starch in the pasta water formed a sauce that coated the noodles with briny, salty flavor. Many twists of black pepper later, and this was ready to serve. 

And wow, was it delicious. If you’re like me and you find clams intimidating, this is a great introductory recipe that will leave you unafraid and ready for more. It’s not at all fishy tasting, and the pasta and chorizo make it feel like a familiar dinner with a fun twist. The walnuts and parsley added a really nice textural variance, and added yet another flavor element to make things interesting. There were absolutely no leftovers. 

I got my courage to make this dish from 3 daring friends who wanted to try it with me. Sam, Madeline, and Jordan. And as is customary with this crew, this became another All-Out Alison Meal. I’ll deploy the other recipe essays through the rest of this week. 

103 recipes cooked, 122 to go.

Caramelized Winter Squash with Toasted Coconut Gremolata by Alison Roman

“What in the world is gremolata?” I asked myself. I asked the Internet. “Gremolata is an Italian green sauce made of chopped parsley, lemon zest, and garlic.” Oh, okay. Simple enough. 

Now that we’ve got that looming question out of the way, let’s talk about squash! For the very first time in my 27 years, I purchased an acorn squash. I felt very sophisticated as I searched the 6'x6' cardboard box of squashes at the grocery store. I found one in the right weight range and that had some fun orange coloring at the top and called it a day. 

Slicing the squash into equally thick, ½” rings was another matter entirely. If you don’t have a reliable chef’s knife, then tread cautiously. I struggled to hold onto the rolly squash and maintain a straight line as I sawed through its ridges. 

It was here that I missed an opportunity. Alison tells you that you can either scoop out the squash’s center, filled with pulp and seeds, or you can leave it all in and let the seeds toast on the pan with everything else. (Acorn squash seeds are slightly smaller and rounder than pumpkin seeds). I should have listened to her recommendation. I chose to scoop my squash out and discard the center, but one lone seed made it onto my baking sheet in the process. It was oven roasted along with the squash rings. When it was all done, I decided to try it and see what I had missed… of course, Alison was right. The seed was perfectly golden and crunchy and would have made for the best snack. Let’s just say, I will not make this mistake again. 

I roasted the squash rings in coconut oil, flipping them halfway through. They became soft and slightly sweet after 30 minutes in the oven. And the gremolata brought it all together: toasted coconut chips, finely chopped chives and cilantro, lemon zest, salt, and Aleppo pepper. This dish is very unlike any vegetable dish I’ve made before, both visually and in flavor. It was so delightful and could be served alongside a number of other things. I made mine with Buttermilk-Brined Chicken, but it would do just as well with something bolder. 

25 recipes cooked, 200 to go.