Spaghetti with clams and zaatar

Spaghetti with clams is one of those recipes for busy corporates who don’t have much time on their hands to chop, or peel – this is a beautiful light dinner after a long day, or perfect in advance of a movie night. I added a Middle Eastern herb blend, Zaatar, which is a combination of thyme, sumac, sea salt and toasted sesame seeds. Zaatar the herb has round leaves and a thyme-like flavor. It is sometimes called wild thyme in English, and it grows along the slopes of the Syrian-Lebanese mountains. Zaatar is also the name of a dried-herb blend. It can be found in all Middle Eastern kitchens, it used in almost anything that needs a little spicy tangy kick. It blends beautifully with these clams. If you can not find zaatar at your local supermarket, I recommend you make it at home, this recipe makes 6 – 8 tsp and can be stored upto 6 months in the fridge.

• 4 tsp wild or dry thyme, ground the thyme by pulsing a few times in a food processor
• 2 tsp ground sumac
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and throughly mix until well combined. Store in a jar in the fridge for.

1. Some clams will be closed, while others may be slightly open. Tap on them to see if they automatically close. If they respond, they are alive. Do not choose any wide open clams or clams with broken shells, as they are more than likely dead, discard those. S

2. Place your clams in a bowl of cool, fresh water with a damp towel over the top and refrigerate for roughly 20 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure the clams are completely submerged under the water. As the clams are soaking they will naturally spit out any salt, sand and ocean particles they have absorbed, which will clean their insides.

3. You can repeat this process a couple of times if you wish to ensure the clams are thoroughly cleaned.

4. Use a brush to clean off any barnacles, coral, sand or other debris which may be crusted to the exteriors of the clams.

Preparation time:  20 minutes, excluding the washing of the clams

Cooking time:  30 minutes

Serves:  4

• 6 – 8 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 kg clams
• 500g spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp zaa’tar
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To serve:  Parmesan cheese, to taste

1. In a small pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and the garlic, fry until golden. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a sauce pot over medium heat, add well-washed clams, cover and wait until open, but make sure you don’t cook them too long as they get smaller and chewy. Remove the sauce pot  from the heat, pick through the clams and discard any that haven’t remained shut. Season the clam mixture well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Discard a quarter of the water, make sure you leave most of their juice as that will make the pasta moist and delicious.

3. In another sauce pot, add the spaghetti and cover with salted water and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Bring to a boil and drain them slightly undercooked, add them to clams, add in the garlic and the 2 tsp of zaatar saute’ everything for a few minutes.

4. Divide the spaghetti and clams onto serving plates and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Our weekly installment of  Keys to My Kitchen,  a blog featuring delicious recipes, fun stories, and simple ideas from Lara Ariss. View previous posts here .