What's in Season: Local linguine for clams

Cielo Howell, right, with nests of the homemade pasta.AMY SOWDER PHOTOS

Local linguini from Katonah Pasta has become part of the holiday season for Catholics and others.

By AMY SOWDER

When thinking of the December holiday season, pasta probably isn’t what comes to mind. Unless you’re Italian or you like Italian food … like the vast majority of Americans.

Come Christmas Eve, linguine with clam sauce or other seafood is a hard-fast Southern Italian and Italian-American holiday tradition borne from the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

The night-before-Christmas meal with at least seven different fish or shellfish comes from the Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat before the holy days, an act of penance and abstinence to commemorate Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.

But you don’t have to be a believer to be devoted to linguine with clam sauce come late December, says Maria Abbate, owner of Katonah Pasta. 

“It’s not just for Italians anymore,” Abbate said. “I have Jewish people come for it — everyone. Our linguine sells like crazy at Christmas. It’s insane. But I’m honored they chose us for their tradition.”

On Christmas Eve, the little pasta shop sells about 200 pounds of linguine compared to about 12 pounds on a regular day, Abbate said.

“It’s impressive how not any other pasta is touched on that day,” said Cielo Howell, who’s worked at the shop for eight years. “When I was new and came in that first year, I was like ‘Why is linguine all over here? What is happening?’” Howell laughed. “It’s quite a thing.”

People drive over from Connecticut and up from Manhattan to buy linguine at Christmas, they said. Some customers will grab their fish at Mount Kisco Seafood and then come to her shop for the linguine, completing the circle of local specialities that satisfy tradition.

One tender nest of fresh linguine is about a quarter pound, and a pound of regular semolina pasta is $4.75. Specialty pastas like squid ink, spinach and whole wheat are priced a bit higher. 

Opened in 2012, the shop supplies its sister restaurants, the Blue Dolphin and Le Fontane in Katonah, Dolphin South Trattoria in Pleasantville and Bacio Trattoria in Cross River, plus the Bedford Post Inn.

To meet the needs of restaurateurs and home cooks alike, Katonah Pasta makes dolphin-shaped pasta and ribbon-cut pastas, small pastas, tube-shaped pastas and stuffed pastas, such as lobster ravioli, offered only in December. Then there are the house-made sauces, breads and fresh pizza dough.

Linguine’s physique is particularly well-suited for being dressed in a light sauce of olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and dry white wine or vermouth. Unlike the cylindrical shape of spaghetti, linguine is what would happen if the world’s smallest steamroller ran over it. It’s mostly flat and narrow with curved edges that hold oil- and wine-based sauces best, especially with small bits of seafood.

“There’s more surface area than spaghetti so it holds the sauce better. But you want it to slide off also, for slurping,” Howell said.

Fresh pasta is softer, more delicate and requires much less cooking time. Because it includes eggs when a lot of dried pastas don’t, it tastes richer.

“We use Italian semolina imported from Italy and fresh eggs, not liquid eggs,” Abbate said. “It’s a little pricier but healthier. And fresh eggs don’t have citric acid in it.”

Besides yielding a different kind of wheat, Italians mill their grain very fine — like the revered silky “00” flour — so it’s easier for digestion, she said. More delicate with less of the gluten protein, this pasta is like a bowl of comfort and joy, served safe and warm inside from the elements.

Yet people also brave the wintry conditions to make a special trip to Katonah Pasta because of the familiar faces behind the counter, year after year. A sense of community, neighborliness and supporting local shops only adds to the warm spirit of the season.

“To be in a mom-and-pop place is so lovely,” Howell said. “I’ve become so acquainted with the townspeople, and I love that.”

Katonah Pasta is located at 28 Valley Road, Katonah.