Mario’s Recipe for Clams and Mussels Sauté
A circle was closed. Mario Fariello, a native son of Vasto, grew up in the building overlooking the Gulf of Vasto that is now the  Ristorante Panzotto. 

When I am asked what my favorite Italian food is, I always answer  “everything!”, because there are so many choices, that it is impossible to point out just one. However, one dish that I never tire of is, “Sauté di Cozze e Vongole”. They are a traditional dish along the Abruzzo coast and can be found on the menus of most local trattorias, but I always prefer them the way Mario makes them in his Restaurant Panzotto, on the scenic Loggia Amblingh. The mussels and clams are fresh from the sea below, steamed in their own juice, and he serves them with freshly baked focaccia, drizzled with local olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

I asked Mario, Panzotto’s owner and chef, if he would share his recipe with me. “It’s easier if I show you,” he said, and invited me into his kitchen. “In order to preserve the delicate taste of the shellfish, simple is best.” E´ multo facile,” it is very easy,” he continued, as he lit the stove, poured a dash of olive oil in a battered frying pan, deftly threw in a little chopped garlic, the clams and mussels, and splashed white wine over them.  “Yes, it’s easy I thought, for a professional cook that has made the dish every day for years.” As he spooned the shellfish into a bowl, and poured over the broth, (the whole process took only a few minutes) I remembered one of the basic rules that govern Italian cooking. “Don’t complicate your dish thinking it will be better.”

Ingredients for Two servings:

Before. Soak the shellfish for a few hours in salted water to remove sand and grit.

1kilo well cleaned mussels

1 kilo well cleaned vongole (small clams)

1-2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

0.5 dl extra virgin olive oil

1 small bunch chopped parsley

Sliced lemon

1 dl white wine

Salt

Preparation:

Put the oil in the pot on low heat.

Put in the garlic and sauté for approximately one minute.

Put in the mussels.

Put in the vongole.

Pour in the wine.

Cover it and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring until the shellfish open.

Strew over the parsley and a little more oil.

Serve in a clay bowl with lemons on the side and a glass of chilled Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.

Note: Be careful not to overcook, or the shellfish will toughen.