Spaghetti alla Formiana

Spaghetti alla Formiana is one of the main typical products of the province of Latina that is consumed particularly in the summer in the city of Formia. This recipe is extremely delicious and contains almost all the seafood ingredients that characterize the Pontine city, an ideal dish to surprise friends and relatives in a Sunday lunch. What makes it special? I give you a preview is a dish that contains mussels, clams, prawns and much more . . . do I need to say more!? So let's discover together all the secrets of spaghetti alla Formiana.

Pasta alla Formiana is a quick and very simple dish that you can make with ingredients that you can find at the grocery store. Pasta alla Formiana, from the town of Formia in the coastal Lazio region of Italy (halfway between Naples and Rome).  Formia was a very popular tourist resort in Roman times as evidenced by the numerous remains of villas, among which famous were those of Mamurra and Maecenas. On this stretch of the gulf came to build one of his favorite country houses, even Cicero. The cuisine of the Gulf is fundamentally linked to fish: a millenary tradition witnessed by the remains of fish ponds built by the Romans, and still visible in the port of Formia, Sperlonga, Ponza and Zannone, to always have fresh fish. Spaghetti alla formiana is one of the most recurring dishes in the gastronomic memories of the Bourbon Patriciate. A strong but tasty dish for the ingredients: mussels, clams, shrimps, squid, peeled tomatoes, white wine, olive oil.

Ingredients 

500 gr. spaghetti

400 gr. of mussels

400 gr. of clams (lupins) with shell

200 gr. of shrimp

200 gr of squid

500 gr. cherry tomatoes

half a glass of white wine,

parsley

two tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

two cloves of garlic or shallots

Preparation 

To prepare spaghetti alla formiana you start with the preparation of the dressing. First clean the mussels and clams, the latter must be purged of excess sand, to do so just put a colander in a container, so that it does not touch the bottom and fill with cold water, leaving them for a few minutes. While you wait for the clams to purge, start cutting the squid into small pieces and shelling the shrimp. Once all the ingredients are ready, fry the garlic or shallot in boiling oil, add the squid and shelled prawns, parsley, and blend with a glass of wine. Evaporate the wine and add the cherry tomatoes cut in half previously. In this sauce add the clams and mussels covered immediately with a lid and wait for them to open (4 minutes), salt and pepper. The last step will be to add the spaghetti al dente cooked in salted water.

Tip

It is advisable to consume spaghetti alla formana immediately; If you have cooked in excess you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight glass container or covered with film for a day at most. Freezing is not recommended. If you do not have time to prepare spaghetti alla formiana you can taste them in one of the restaurants in the city of Formia. Surely spaghetti alla formiana are one of the typical products of the province of Latina that can not miss on the table in the summer.

How to Make Giada's Pasta alla Formiana | Food Network

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D73LHe77U_s