Recipe: Grouper alle Vongole (Grouper with Pasta & Clams)

Today, a tried and tested family recipe Grouper alle Vongole- it’s pasta, clams and grouper- and we’ll also be adding in our own chorizo, which we’ll show you how to make from scratch. This recipe was shared by IL Ritorno owner and Executive Chef David Lazer Benstock, who told us: "This is a dish that my oldest son and I created one night when he wanted to make dinner. We have made it many times together, perfecting it each time. It is served with chorizo, manilla clams, shishito peppers and topped with pan-seared Grouper." Click here to visit the website for IL Ritorno.

Click here for a printer-friendly version of the recipe below. If you make it, let us know how it turns out! 

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Chorizo 

Ingredients

• ½ lb ground pork
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Directions

• Mix all ingredients together thoroughly for a few minutes. Set aside.

Grouper all Vongole

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Chorizo (from above recipe)
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• ½ cup shishito peppers, sliced
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 14 Manila clams
• 2 x 4 oz pieces of black grouper
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper, to season grouper

Directions

1. In sauté pan, cook chorizo with olive oil. Once cooked, add garlic and shishito peppers and sauté for one minute.
2. Deglaze pan with white wine, then add clams before garlic browns.
3. Once clams open, remove from the pan and set aside.
4. Season grouper with salt and pepper, sear in a sauté pan, and finish in oven at 400° F for 4–5 minutes or until it reaches internal temperature of 155° F.
5. Place cooked grouper on top of reduced chorizo and clam mixture.

Spring Bruschetta

Ingredients

• 2 slices ciabatta bread
• olive oil, to drizzle
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup garbanzo beans
• ¼ cup fava beans
• ¼ cup sautéed morel mushrooms
• ¼ cup mushroom stock
• 12 pieces pickled ramps
• ¼ cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tbsp mint, fresh and chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp lemon juice, divided
• zest from one lemon
• 1 tsp chopped Calabrese chilis

Directions 

1. Grill seasoned ciabatta with olive oil and salt.
2. Mix ricotta with lemon zest, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and mint, then spread on grilled ciabatta.
3. Sauté morel mushrooms, fava beans, garbanzo beans, garlic, and Calabrese chilis together.
4. Add mushroom stock and reduce until it glazes the vegetables.
5. Top ciabatta and ricotta with sautéed vegetable mixture.
6. Garnish with pickled ramps and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.

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