Falafel Here, Falafel There

The food: falafel sandwiches

Green falafel sandwich at Taim

The story:

My son Simon Farine, a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) basketball player at Dalhousie University for the Dalhousie Tigers, recently returned from a trip to Israel, where he played on the Open Men’s Basketball team for Canada at the 18th Maccabiah Games, and helped the team defeat Maccabi teams from Germany, Greece, Brazil and Argentina on the way to winning the Bronze Medal. (The Canadian team’s only defeats were to the U.S.A. and Israel, which won the Gold and Silver, respectively.)

Simon in action vs. the U.S. team, U.S. coach Bruce Pearl in background

I didn’t go to Israel to watch him play, but in his honour, I stopped in at the falafel shop Taim on my last visit to New York. Taim is a tiny open kitchen spot in the West Village, with counter seating for 4 or 5 (there’s also a bench outside), no air conditioning, and a limited menu. I ordered the green falafel (made with chickpeas, coriander, mint and parsley), with a side order of fries.

Fries with saffron aioli at Taim

The fries photograph better than they tasted: they were overcooked and hard. But the falafel sandwich was complex and satisfying: the patties were crunchy outside, soft within, more herby than spicy (I consider that a good thing); the pita was soft and fresh, the tahini sauce creamy, the greens inside crisp. I’d go back for it, especially in cooler weather.

Simon ate falafel twice in Israel and reported that falafel sandwiches there came with fries tucked inside the pita (!). Soon after he returned to Toronto, we got takeout from Jerusalem Restaurant and assembled sandwiches at home – falafel patties with baba ghanoush and tahini in pita for Simon, and the same combo wrapped in corn tortillas for Michael, my son who has celiac disease.

Falafel from Jerusalem restaurant in Toronto

Gluten-free falafel sandwich/wrap

Both boys – picky eaters who have been known to run their parents ragged with their expectations for good meals at home – enjoyed their meals thoroughly. (Whew.)

Linguine Vongole

The food: linguine with clams

Linguine vongole from Palma in New York

The story:

Linguine with clams is my favorite pasta dish – the menu item I’m compelled to order whenever I’m in a good Italian restaurant that offers it.

For example, the last time E and I went to Palma in New York, a charming, rustically decorated spot on Cornelia Street in the West Village, we ordered the light, greaseless, and succulent calamari fritti ($13) garnished with fried sage leaves, to split like we always do when we’re there,

Calamari fritti at Palma

and also tried the carciofi croccanti – crispy artichokes with parmigiano and parsley ($13).

Crispy artichokes at Palma

Which meant I didn’t really have room for Palma’s linguine vongole ($18) as well. But I ordered it anyway, because I especially like Palma’s version, with its pleasing ratio of clams to linguine, and fruity, fragrant gloss of wine and olive oil.

On another trip to New York, when I was in need of a quick lunch on the Upper (ish) East Side between a morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a matinee at the City Center theater, I stopped in at a modest (and slightly down at its heels: avoid the women’s restroom) Fresh Basil’s Trattoria on Lexington near 56th Street, because New York magazine said it did traditional pastas well, and because linguine with clams was listed on the menu. Or rather, because the menu listed as a house specialty a Linguine Al Frutti Di Mare in a “special marinara sauce” ($15.95) which the waiter quickly agreed to convert into a clams only version.

A whole lot of linguine with clams at Fresh Basil's Trattoria

The platter of pasta that arrived soon after could have fed four, and contained what looked like ½ to ¾ of pound of linguine, not so much coated with that special sauce as drowning in it. (Pasta portions at a nearby table, where 3 out of the 4 patrons had ordered spaghetti Bolognese, were also super-sized.) Pasta purists would probably deem the linguine overcooked, but the clams were meaty and fresh-tasting, and the marinara sauce was special – silky smooth, and sweetly tomato-ey, with a peppery bite. I ate all the clams, with a third of the pasta – okay, maybe ½ – and gave up on the rest.

After a few weeks’ rest and recovery, I ate one more serving of linguine vongole: a serving I’d made at home, with littleneck clams, combining elements of two different recipes that married clams with lemon juice. This was my first time cooking fresh clams, and the process was easier than I expected, since the fishmonger had cleaned the clams for me, and when I steamed them in the wine, lemon juice and olive oil sauce, every shell opened.

The clams in their shells before I covered and steamed them.

My home-cooked linguine with clams

The home-cooked version of the dish was tasty, though because I held back on the olive oil, it lacked the fruity glossy goodness of the Palma version. And for colour, I should have added the chopped parsley at the end (like the restaurants do) rather than at the beginning. I’ve amended the recipe below accordingly.

Linguine with Clams (adapted from Martha Stewart Living magazine and Epicurious.com)

1 lb. linguine
¼ c. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (optional – I omitted these)
3 lbs. fresh littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 c. white wine
¼ c. fresh lemon juice
2 T. lemon zest, finely chopped
¼ c. fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add linguine and cook according to package directions.
2. Heat oil over medium heat in large stainless steel sauté pan. Add garlic, if using, and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and wine, and simmer 2 minutes.
3. Add clams, raise heat to medium high. Cover and cook until clams open, about 5-7 minutes (discard any that remain closed).
4. When pasta is cooked, drain and add to sauté pan with parsley, then toss to coat and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.