Angelini Again

[corkscrew]

Last night I made another visit to Angelini, the newly reopened Italian restaurant in the Shangri-La hotel. It was brilliant! The last time I ate there, two days after it reopened, I had an excellent Kobe Beef Carpacio followed by spaghetti. At that time I was really impressed.

This time I had a selection of real Italian cold cuts followed up by clams from Manila in a marinera sauce. Both were superb.

The service and the atmosphere are top drawer.

Not including wine my bill was about 700 baht. (*)

(*) My Thai wife does not like Italian food so I had to eat alone (mia noi does not like Italian dishes either )

[corkscrew]

Emperor, mussels are my favorite also. I just printed out your receipe and I'll pop over to Tops where I saw some mussels for sale. THANKS!

I'm not a big fan of vongole (clams). Prefer mussels.

My recipe for mussels marinara to compliment your excellent photos...

You'll need over a kilo of mussels to be sufficient for two people. Foodland has excellent fresh mussels for about 30THB per kilo. Have on hand a large pot with lid, a couple of woks or two large frying pans.

Shallow fry some diced garlic in olive oil, quickly add some finely diced onion. Half a small onion should more than suffice. Once onions have softened add the mussels. Beforehand, clean the mussels by rinsing under cold water, removing the beards and chipping off any excess barnacles and dirt.

Cover and let steam for 10 minutes on high heat until all the mussels have opened, disgarding those that have not opened.

Then add a good measure of passata to form a thin sauce or soup. The passata I use is already passed with basil added, but a can of tinned whole peeled tomatoes will do, just make sure you break up the tomatoes.

Season liberally to taste, added fresh basil if desired.

Allow to cook off for a few more minutes, stirring well and finally add a good pinch of freshly chopped parsley.

Serve with crusty bread and a glass of chilled white wine.