Spaghetti en papillote is a spectacular first course, with a sea fragrance and perfect for serving on special occasions. A delicious recipe, where the pasta is cooked very al dente and seasoned with a delightful mussel and clam sauce. Afterwards, it is wrapped in parchment paper to finish cooking in the oven with all its seasoning. Only when you sit at the table, its goodness and sea fragrance is revealed.
Simple and quick to prepare, pasta en papillote is perfect for serving at a dinner with friends or on special occasions. It is also possible to prepare in advance, preparing the fish sauce the day before. Use it to season the pasta only when it’s time to bake it. The only steps that require a little more time and care in this recipe involve cleaning the mussels and clams. However, after tasting this first course, you will surely forget the effort made earlier.
Of course, you can enrich or replace mussels and clams by using other types of fish: squid, crustaceans, cuttlefish, or whatever you prefer. When cooking is finished, I embellished the spaghetti by adding chopped chives. If you prefer, you can still use chopped parsley as per the traditional recipe. Now let’s go to the kitchen together, because the spaghetti en papillote will be ready in a click!
If you are interested in other fish first course recipes, check out:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 336.82 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 34.72 (g) of which sugars 0.78 (g)
- Proteins 26.60 (g)
- Fat 10.59 (g) of which saturated 2.20 (g)of which unsaturated 3.07 (g)
- Fibers 2.09 (g)
- Sodium 1,067.88 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 224 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 11 oz spaghetti
- 14 oz mussels
- 14 oz clams
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 0.5 cup tomato sauce
- chives (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
Tools
- Saucepan
- Frying Pan
- Colander
- Strainer
- 4 Cocotte
- Kitchen twine
Steps
To prepare the spaghetti en papillote, first of all, you need to clean the mollusks. Start with the mussels: remove the beard protruding between the two shells. Then, with a stiff brush, proceed with brushing under running water to remove all incrustations. Afterwards, transfer the mussels to plenty of salted water and let them soak for a few hours, changing the water often. Finally, drain them and dry them with a clean, dry cloth. Now let’s move on to purging the clams. Pour them into a bowl with plenty of cold salted water and let them soak for about half an hour, until they have released the sand inside them. After soaking, also transfer the clams to a dry cloth to dry them.
Once the mussels and clams are cleaned, clean the garlic cloves and sauté them in a pan with the oil. Then add the cleaned mollusks, the pepper, and cook over medium heat with the lid on until they are completely open.
After the cooking time, remove the lid and then also the mussels and clams. Then strain the sauce and put the mollusks back in the pan. Add the tomato sauce and chopped chives and continue cooking over low heat for a few moments, just enough time for the ingredients to blend. It is important to leave the sauce quite watery to allow the pasta to cook in the oven.
Separately, cook the spaghetti for half the time indicated on the package. Drain them, transfer them to the pan with the fish and mix them with the sauce. Cut 4 sheets of parchment paper and place them in each cocotte. Distribute one portion of pasta with the sauce in each of them. Close the papillote very well and tie it with kitchen twine so that the steam created inside does not escape during baking. Then cook the papillotes in the oven at 350°F in static mode for 5 minutes.
After the cooking time, remove the cocottes from the oven and open them slightly. Serve the spaghetti en papillote with more chopped chives.
Variations and tips for spaghetti en papillote
Spaghetti en papillote is best consumed immediately after baking in the oven. The fish sauce can also be prepared the day before. Use it to season the pasta only when it’s time to bake it.
To get pasta cooked to the right point, drain it very al dente so it can finish cooking in the oven without overcooking.
FAQs Questions and Answers for spaghetti en papillote
What can I substitute for chives?
In place of chives, you can use chopped parsley. Additionally, you can flavor this first course by adding grated lemon zest or other aromatic herbs to your liking.
