Cavatelli alla Puglia
Serves 4

The beauty of Italian cooking is its simplicity. The beauty of cooking in Puglia, by the shore, is the addition of seafood. Here is a light dish from a selection of primi piatti I had recently in Otranto - what a place is that. To be shared with a good bottle of Primativo. Or you can choose something else. Pinot Noir's good. Cote du Rhone, Chianti...etc.

Ingredients
• Cavatelli pasta (hotdog bun shaped, but smaller, and not easy to find)
• Light marinara red sauce
• Olive oil
• Small amount of garlic
• Scattering of mussels, senza shells
• Red wine and small amount of sea broth (we keep small containers of frozen lobster broth that kept just for that reason)
• A touch of smoked cheese grated (optional)

  Ingredients For Sauce
  You may have your own, but my marina sauce is made via Rao's Marina recipe.

• 8 large plum tomatoes, skinned and seeds extracted (they can cause bitterness)
• Small amount of garlic chopped, clove is good
• Olive oil about a tablespoon
• Basil
• Small amount of pig fat (bacon grease will do, but cut the amount used)

  Directions

  Crush the tomatoes (de-seeded and skinned) by hand in a bowl Heat a pot add olive oil and garlic. When garlic is translucent, take it out, add the pork fat and melt. Add the bowl of tomatoes crushed. Cook down and add basil last.

  When that's done steam your mussels in the sea broth, with a little red wine, and some garlic until they open. Once open take off the burner and leave for final assembly. Coat the pasta lightly - cooked al dente of course - with the sauce, place in bowl with mussels extracted from the shell and scattered through the dish. Best served individually. Cheese grated served on the side.

  Music to go with this? Roberto Murolo.
  Click here to here a sample of two. .
  Wine? Any light red wine is a winner.