Steamed Mussels in White Wine Butter Sauce

Rinse the clams/mussels in cold water and scrub off any grit. Fill a large bowl with ice water, stir in the cornmeal, add mollusks, and stick in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight). They will suck up the cornmeal and spit out the sand, so they won’t be gritty when you eat them.

Start the pasta to cook. While the water’s heating up, rinse the mollusks again and discard any that are open. If using mussels, pull the beards off.

After you’ve added the pasta to the boiling water, melt the butter in a large skillet, add the shallot and saute until soft. Add the clams/mussels, pour in the wine, bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low, let simmer for 5 minutes. Discard any that don’t open, divide the rest between 2 plates. Also divide the pasta between the plates. Stir the parsley into the sauce, pour over the pasta.