Razor Clam Lemon Capellini

Never heard of razor clams?  Neither had I prior to ordering them through Haida Wild.  And am I ever happy I did! In truth, I didn’t grow up with a lot of seafood.  After all, I spent the first part of my life in northern Alberta.  Beyond locally caught walleye fish, there wasn’t a lot of fresh seafood to go around.

But then we moved to Kelowna (a step in the right direction, being the ocean), followed by Victoria and Vancouver. Well, you simply can’t get any closer to the coast can you? I’ve learned many things along the way, and one of those is that not all seafood is created equal.  Haida Wild is a company that I’ve discovered that produces seafood that incorporates Yahguudang (I won’t even try to pronounce it!), the Haida concept of respect for the land, sea, air and all living things.

They are an Ocean Wise partner (a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood) and purchase from a small group of commercial fishermen that have been hand selected for their consistent quality and excellent care-of-catch.  I also love how their fishing methods significantly reduce bycatch,  and that they see no seafood as an ‘undesirable’ species, promoting no wastage of any fish.

Razor clams are small and delicate, known for their sweet tender meat.  Haida Wild does all of the hard work for you, packaging the shelled clam meat in vacuum sealed packages that are super quick to thaw. You can order the clams (or any other of their products) online here, and have them delivered perfectly frozen to your door.

Prepping all of the ingredients ahead of time is the key to success for this recipe, everything cooks very quickly (especially the clams, they get tough if they are over-cooked!).  You can even prep most of it the night before and have it ready to go for when you get home from work, making it one of the fastest meals you’ll ever make.  If your crew doesn’t like clams, Haida Wild has AMAZING spot prawns that work perfectly for this dish!

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 250g. capellini pasta
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. finely diced shallots
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 c. white wine (I used Quail’s Gate Chasselas, Pinot Gris & Pinot Blank blend)
• 1 lb Haida Wild razor clams, washed well and drained, cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grated lemon rind (from 1 fresh lemon)
• 1/2 c. freshly chopped curly parsley
• 2/3 c. freshly grated parmesan (plus extra for serving)
• salt & pepper

 

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prep all of your ingredients.
2. In a large heavy bottomed frying pan with tall sides, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots and crushed garlic and sauté until transparent and fragrant, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the pasta to the boiling pot of water.
4. Add the white wine to the shallots and garlic, turn the heat up to high, and continue to cook until it’s reduced by half. Add the pasta (using tongs, save the pasta water), lemon juice, parsley, lemon zest and grated parmesan and toss gently. Add the clams, toss the pasta, and remove from the heat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If the pasta gets dry add a bit of the pasta water to it and toss.
5. Garnish with extra parmesan if desired and serve immediately.