This Is Andrew Zimmern's Favorite Food To Cook For Himself

Andrew Zimmern has eaten and cooked a whole lot of food in his decades-long career — and if you've ever seen him cook on TV, you know he turns out some epic-looking dishes. But when he's home, Zimmern likes to keep things simple yet full of flavor. During his Reddit AMA, Zimmern invited fans and readers to ask him questions about his work, cooking style, and life on the road. When someone asked what food he liked to cook for himself, Zimmern replied, "My favorite food to cook for myself when my family is away is a very large bowl of the most impeccable mussels and clams cooked in white wine, parsley, and butter, and piled over a small tangle of very, very thin noodles."

By "thin noodles," we can assume Zimmern is referring to something like angel hair or vermicelli pasta. He has said that if he could only eat one food for the rest of his life, it would be mussels, so it's no surprise that these shellfish play a part in the dish he creates for himself. We can gather that pasta with seafood is something Zimmern has an affinity for, not only by his preferred solo food, but by the fact that he prepared shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta on a segment of "The Good Dish," where he admitted that he liked to make the dish for his family. 

Andrew Zimmern has sampled food from practically every corner of the globe, much of which he's shared with viewers on his various television shows. He finds joy and pleasure in so many different cuisines, but if there is one genre of food he considers the best, it's seafood. He told Chowhound, "I prefer cooking and eating food from the water to just about anything else, so places that stand out for me are obviously cities on the water." This explains why his go-to meal at home is pasta with mussels and clams. Even his favorite Korean snacks come from the ocean.

While there is not a recipe specifically for this dish on his website, there is one for linguine with clam sauce, which is likely similar in preparation to his version that includes mussels. Zimmern likes to use little neck or cherrystone clams, which he scrubs clean before steaming them. In a separate recipe for Mussels Fra Diavolo, he scrubs and de-beards the shellfish as well. Mussels and clams can be steamed together with wine and flavorings. Be sure to toss any mussels or clams that don't open during cooking. The cooking liquid plays a huge part in serving and flavoring the pasta, so save it, but strain it first to get rid of any lingering sand or bits of shell. If you're really in a pinch, or just don't feel like scrubbing all those shells, canned clams can be a suitable option. The cooked shellfish and strained cooking liquid will all be poured onto your cooked pasta. After a bite, it will probably be obvious why Zimmern treats himself to this easy yet luxurious meal when he's cooking for himself.