Asian square spaghetti

Do you remember the contest “La semplicità di ritorno” (The simplicity of return) that I mentioned on the fan page of Like Eat a while ago? Well, I’m happy to announce that now is the big day for me to take the baton from Tamara, from the blog Un pezzo della mia maremma, and continue the beautiful rolling that, since the last 15th of January, is leading us to the discovery of a fascinating territory all to be explored, Molise. A region of timid beauty and great hospitality, rich in tradition and history, populated by genuine people as much as its delicious excellence.

To praise this land of many peculiarities, I’ve chosen to prepare some recipes that allow you to use simple raw materials, readily available and not too expensive, but at the same time make me want to sit all around the table, like a day of festivity.

And the pasta La Molisana in all this helped a lot, because you should know that it has a great innate talent: in any way you think you prepare it, it will still collect and transmit the flavors in an exceptional manner, offering to those who is cooking it, the possibility of obtaining appetizing dishes with very little effort.

So, inspired by this mood of simplicity and conviviality family, for my first recipe, the “Asian square spaghetti”, I decided to focus on subtle flavors, slightly spicy and exotic scents, combining (as my usual) traditions two worlds so dear to me (Italy and Vietnam) in a mix of fragrances perhaps unusual, but certainly exciting for the taste and my little heart. Because every single ingredient of this dish evokes in me pleasure and memories of pleasant experiences.

“Because the dishes are memory and each bite has the power to take you home, wherever it is.”

Clean the mussels by scraping the surface with a sponge, remove the fine linen and wash them well under running water to remove all impurities.

In a pan heat a little oil and fry briefly the poached garlic, the bay leaf broken in half and the stalk of lemongrass slightly beaten.

Pour the mussels in the pan, simmer with white wine until reduced and let evaporate for 1-2 minutes. Cover with the lid and continue to cook until all the mussels will open.

Lift from pan the mussels with a slotted spoon, shell them and set aside. Strain the broth from the mussels preserving the lemongrass and bay leaf.

Put again in the pan the lemongrass and the bay leaves, pour the coconut milk, mussel broth and curry. Cook the sauce for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding salt if necessary.

Cook the spaghetti in abundant salted water. Drain and pour them into the pan with the sauce with coconut milk and curry, add the mussels and blow the dough for a minute over high heat, to let them to be well soaked of the sauce.

Finally, sprinkle with a little of coriander to taste and serve.

Bon appétit!

P.S. To discover my second recipe, the “Linguine with beet pesto”, I’ll invite you to visit the new blog of Pasta La Molisana and let us know what you think!

And don’t forget that “Molise Calling” continues. The next recipe will be published on the 10th of February on the blog Nato sotto il cavolo. We’ll wait for you there!!!

Use the hashtag #molisecalling and #pastalamolisana to follow all the stories of the 17 bloggers involved in this fantastic initiative. 😉