Michel Roux’s tagliolini with seafood

Method

1. Wash the clams and mussels well in cold water and discard any that are broken or don’t close when tapped. Remove any beards from the mussels.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the shallot, fennel seeds and garlic and sweat until they start to colour. Add the clams, then the mussels. Pour in the pastis, cover the pan and cook for five to seven minutes until all the shells have opened. Take care not to overcook the shellfish.

3. Tip everything into a colander placed over a bowl, then pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve or a strainer lined with muslin. Pick the flesh from the mussels and clams, leaving a few in the shell to use as a garnish. Tip the cooking liquor back into the pan, bring it to the boil and boil for five minutes. Add the prawns and crème fraiche, then, when the prawns have turned pink, add the picked mussels and clams.

4. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add two tablespoons of salt. Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain. Add the drained pasta to the pan of shellfish and stir well. Add the chopped herbs and garnish with some mussels and clams in shells. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper, then serve at once.