I was asked, what meal would you make for a romantic date night. I couldn’t think of anything else besides seafood and Italian. On this episode of Ivy’s Kitchen, I will show you how to make Linguine with mussels and clams. It is super simple, yet elegant.  Great for dinner parties, romantic date night, or just to make something really quick. Not an original recipe, but made a few editions from the original one =)

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 pound of Mussels
• 1 pound of Clams
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 pound of linguine or spaghetti pasta
• 2 Tablespoons of room temperature unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup of fresh Italian parsley
• 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 3 large shallots sliced
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 cup of Pinot Grigio
• 1 cup of vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (or more depending on how spicy you like your dish).

Instructions:

1. Wash mussels and clams: Fill 2 (one for the mussles and clams) separate bowls with water and add 1/4 cup of flour.  Let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, drain your mussles and clams and rinse.
3. Brush the shells of the shellfish and remove the beard of the mussels.
4. Toss out any open shellfish, they are dead.
5. Bring salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add pasta and cook al dente according to package instructions.
6. Heat olive oil and add shallots.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until softened.
7. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
8. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half (2 minutes).
9. Add the broth and red chili pepper flakes.
10. Add the shellfish and place a lid on the pot. Season broth with more salt and pepper, according to your taste.
11. Leave lid on pot until all shellfish have opened.  This will take about 8-10 minutes.  Toss out any unopened shellfish- these are dead.
12. Turn off heat and add pasta to pot with shellfish and broth.
13. Add the butter and toss.
14. Add the parsley and toss.

Enjoy!