Taste of the Sea

Image courtesy of Paolo Di Lucente.

Zucchini flowers and cherry tomatoes are a sign of spring—and of Paolo Di Lucente’s clam gnocchi, too. The London- and Rome-based photographer’s approach to cuisine is just as poetic as his still life images: “The gnocchi and clams weave the taste of the sea into the heart of home, creating a Sunday symphony of flavors and warmth,” Di Lucente tells Family Style. 

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Ingredients

• ½ pound gnocchi
• 1 pound clams
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 6 zucchini flowers
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• 1 chili pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste

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Instructions

1. Clean the clams. Make sure there are no broken or empty shells, which have to be discarded. Place them in a colander over a bowl and rinse them. Place the colander in a bowl and add plenty of coarse salt. Let clams soak for 2-3 hours.
2. Heat some oil in a pan. Add a clove of garlic and, as the oil takes on flavor, drain the clams well, rinse them, and plunge them in the hot pan. Cover with a lid and let them cook for a few minutes over high heat.
3. The clams will open with heat, so shake the pan from time to time until they are completely open. As soon as they are all open, turn off the heat immediately, otherwise the clams will cook too much. Collect the juice by draining the clams, and do not forget to discard the garlic.
4. Heat some oil in a pan. Add another clove of garlic and chili pepper. Add cherry tomatoes and zucchini flowers. Cook them for about 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
5. In the meantime, cook the gnocchi (2 minutes) in plenty of boiling salted water.
6. Pour the sauce into the pan with cherry tomatoes and zucchini flowers, add gnocchi, and continue cooking using some cooking water for 2 minutes.
7. Add clams and chopped parsley.
8. Heat everything on high for a few seconds and serve immediately.