Sorrento Sunshine Awaits
In Every Dish of Spaghetti al Limoncello

I make this recipe, and I'm in Sorrento, on the Amalfi Coast. I can feel that gentle breeze in my hair; the air is perfumed with the scent of the sea, jasmine, and lemons. I close my eyes, and a crystal-clear, impossibly blue Italian sea is stretching before me.

They say that aroma and taste are the best ways to bring back memories, and this dish is proof.

Thank you to zia Amalia for sharing your secret recipe with us. How we've enjoyed the many times we've sat around your huge outdoor table under the grapevines, friends and family laughing, joking, and smiling. All of us are happy to be together and joyful at the thought of the dishes that will be coming out of zia Amalia's kitchen.

Spaghetti al Limoncello is always one of the highlights, and it is one of my all-time favorite Italian spaghetti recipes.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 and a 1/2 tins (600g/21.16 oz in total)  of chopped Italian tomatoes 
• ½ tin (35g/1.23 oz) of tomato paste
• 1/4 glass of limoncello (70 ml)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion
• 1 chilli pepper
• fresh parsley (½ cup)
• pepper
• salt
• a handful of ground pistachio nuts
• 1 pound (450g) spaghetti
• 10 clams (I occasionally leave out the clams and replace with other seafood) 
• 25 mussels
• 8 medium-size prawns
• small squid chopped—about 250 g/half a pound
• one lemon

Instructions

• Finely chop the onions and mince the garlic.
• Heat the oil and add in the onions until they are transparent.
• Drop in the garlic.
• After three minutes, throw in the clam shells and cook until they open.
• Once they open, add in the limoncello and cook until the liquid begins to evaporate. 
• Next, put in the chopped tomato and tomato paste, pistachio nuts, and half the parsley. 
• Add chilli pepper, mussels, squid and a little salt and pepper to taste.
  
• Cook for five more minutes.
• Add in the prawns and bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes while you cook the spaghetti.
• Cook the spaghetti, with a tablespoon of coarse salt added to the water, until al dente.
• Drain the spaghetti, place it in a big bowl and mix it with the sauce. 
• Remember to add a little more parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon to each serving.

Buon appetito!

And remember...

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