Recipe: Linguine with Torpedino Tomatoes and Mussels

Let's try another pasta recipe. I had the chance to receive some Torpedino tomatoes which are from Fondi, a town on the seaside 200 km from Rome. I have decided to combine these wonderful products with some Mussels in a jar by L'Isola d'Oro, which are my port of call when talking about food cupboard staples.

So here we go with the ingredients. Torpedino Tomatoes, a jar of L'Isola d'Oro Mussels that you can find at Fratelli Camisa online. Linguine Pasta Barilla, easily found at any supermarket, Garlic, Chilli and Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Tamia. I' ve chosen the monocultivar Organic Caninese.

I have started by cutting the Torpedino tomatoes in quarters by their length. As you can see they haven't got many seeds and it is mainly flesh.

In a wok I've put the Tamia Extra Virgin Olive Oil with the garlic and the chilli and I've heated up a bit  being careful not to burn the garlic.

Then I've added the Torpedino tomatoes. I know that this kind of tomatoes is not widely available so you can use cherry tomatoes or vine tomatoes. Use  as many as you like. Soften the tomatoes coating them in the oil and leave them cooking  paying attention that they are not going  to stick at the bottom the wok.

Drain the L'Isola d'Oro Mussels but don't wash them so that their flavour is going to be in the sauce.

Add the mussels to the tomatoes when the tomatoes are ready and just cook them for a couple of minutes so that they are not going to be overcooked and  rubbery.

When the water is boiling add a handful of rock salt and then add the linguine without breaking them in two parts. Use a two pronged fork to stir the pasta and follow the instructions. Generally after 6 minutes try to taste the pasta and you can drain it when is really " al dente".

Before draining the pasta, with a ladle take some cooking water and put it aside in a small bowl because you will need it soon.

Add the cooking water to the sauce in order to make it  smooth and when drained add the pasta to the wok and mix it to cover it completely with the sauce.

Pasta is ready, from the beginning to the end it took about 45 minutes in all, so an easy and quick recipe to impress your guests for an impromptu dinner or for a nice meal after a day's work, eating something cooked from scratch instead of  ready meals. In here you know exactly what is inside. www.lisoladoro.it