Ok, is it time to hear about some cooking failures? I have one for you: Agretti with clams.
Ok, so I thought agretti, which can grow in salty marshes, would be a perfect match with the vongole verace we got from the fish guy at the Fivizzano market. Agretti is a lively spring weed which looks a little like chives and tastes a bit like spinach, although livelier. Vongole verace are little clams, but real.
I was also lazy. I just sauteed the agretti with a little garlic and some red pepper flakes, added the clams, doused them with white wine, covered and cooked until the clams opened.
It wasn’t a great dish, but it was hot enough to make a great picture, what with all that steam coming out. I was disappointed, but a little Vermentino di Sardegna cured that.