molluscs it’s all about the vongole - eric j. lyman

26 Seafood International September 2007

MOLLUSCS

made with clams, though their use ismuch greater in the coastal areas of thecountry’s north and across the centraland southern parts of the Italianpeninsula. Plates range from pastadishes to risotto and from cold saladsin the summer to hearty soups whenthe weather is cool.

‘Clams are really a wonderful part ofItalian cuisine, because they can beused in so many different ways,’ sayshead chef Bruno Barbieri, who alwayshas clam dishes on the menu at hisMichelin two-star Ristorante Arquadeat Verona’s Villa del Quar Hotel.‘Different kinds of clams bringdifferent flavours and textures to ameal. It’s a very important ingredientfor many restaurants of all levels.’

Vongole have a long history in Italy,with ancient texts showing they wereserved as feasts dating back to Romantimes. But for most of their history inItaly, clams were considered far from

haut cuisine.‘It was a poor person’s meal,’

explains Mr Giardini. ‘People couldn’tafford to buy food in markets, and sothey dug around in the sand anddiscovered they could eat the clams.And fortunately, they’ve been a stapleof Italian cuisine ever since.’

Part of Italy’s love affair with clams isa marriage of convenience. Thecountry’s long, uneven coastline providesthousands of perfect environments forclams to thrive in the wild or to befarmed. There is hardly a part of its coastwhere clams do not thrive.

The result is a level of productionthat makes Italy the only Europeancountry among the world’s top tenproducers of clams, according tostatistics from the Rome-based UnitedNations Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO). It ranks seventhbehind world leader China, the USA,and five other Asian countries.

Verona’s Ristorante Arquade focuseson large meaty Japanese carpet shellclams, known as ‘vongole veraci’, andthe smaller and more delicate stripedvenus clams. Chef Barbieri says heuses the former in dishes where textureis more important, such as salads andcold pasta, and the latter in soups andhot pasta dishes, where the smallclam’s more intense flavours can takecentre stage.

He says that even more than withother kinds of seafood, freshness isessential when it comes to clams. Theyshould still be living when purchased,meaning they will be closed or willclose quickly when moved a little. Hereveals that there is a specific kind ofsolid sound that a fresh clam makeswhen tapped, and if a deep inhalationof the clams reveals a fishy smell, thatis a bad sign.

And what is the chef’s favorite wayto cook clams? At first he laughs at thequestion, mostly because he says thereare so many delicious recipes that useclams. But eventually he settled on asimple dish that is on RistoranteArquade’s summer menu.

He starts by boiling small clams andthen setting aside the clam-flavouredwater to cook the pasta in. Then heseparates and heats the clams andscallions in olive oil under low heat - tokeep them from frying - and thenmixes the clams, scallions, and cookedpasta with finely-diced and lightly-steamed carrots, celery, zucchini, andtomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper,and parsley. Let it all cool down andserve it on separate plates with a crispSauvignon Blanc.

‘It’s delicious,’ Mr Barbieri says.‘True, it’s very simple. But with aquality ingredient like fresh clams, youdon’t need something complicated.’ �

In 2005 (the latest statisticsavailable), Italy produced about85,000 tonnes of the three majorclam species in the country:grooved carpet shell clams or

Ruditapes decussates; Japanese carpetshell clams (Ruditapes philippinarum);and striped Venus clams (Chameleagallina or Venus gallina). This figure isa 15% increase on the 72,000 tonnesproduced a decade earlier, but notenough to keep pace with growingdemand from Italian diners.

The country consumed just 30% ofits overall catch in 1995, according tostatistics from the Italian fishingindustry association Federpesca, and itconsumed 45% last year. Federpescapredicts Italian consumption of theoverall clam production will surpass50% in 2008 or 2009.

It has been mooted that Italy couldeven start importing significantquantities of clams in the not toodistant future.

‘Aside from the striped Venus clams,most production now comes fromfarms, and there isn’t a great possibilityfor it to increase much more,’ ToninoGiardini, a Federpesca official tellsSeafood International. ‘But demandfor clams keeps climbing.’

Spain is the only country in Europethat consumes anywhere near as manyclams as Italy; clams are a staple ofSpain’s famous rice-based paella dish– and about 80% of Italy’s totalexports head to this nearby country.The rest is split among Europe, withthe UK and Germany the mostimportant recipients.

The popularity of ‘vongole’, as clamsare known in Italian, has beenunderpinned by the fact that every oneof Italy’s 21 regions and provinces hasa culinary tradition that includes dishes

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Head chef Bruno Barbieri believes thatyou get the best results from clams if

you keep the recipe simple.

The Michelin-starred Ristorante Arquade.

It’s all about the vongoleItaly is Europe’s

top producer of

clams and in most

years it will

consume more of

these small

molluscs than any

other European

country. What is

more, local

consumption is

increasing, writes

Eric Lyman.

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