Jono Fleming cooks local seafood to create a one pot wonder based on a US classic that's perfect for relaxed summer dining.

Australians love our summer seafood. We grill it, fry it and throw it on the barbie - but there is one dish that hasn't yet made an impact on our shores. The New England Clambake is traditionally cooked over a fire on the beach, but luckily it also works well in the home kitchen. The secret is cooking it all in the one pot, keeping it really simple with the flavours and seasoning and letting the seafood speak for itself. Serve in the centre of the table on a big platter, or you can even throw a bunch of newspapers on the table and tip the whole pot onto it! Don't forget plenty of crusty bread for the juices.

Ingredients (serves 6)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion (diced)
1 leek (diced)
Stalks of a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, whole, squashed with the back of a knife or the palm of your hand
4 lemons
6 Desirée (red) potatoes
2 ears of corn, each cut into three pieces
3 blue swimmer crabs
One cup dry white wine
6-8 mussels
500g vongole (clams)
250g pippies
12 uncooked prawns
Salt & pepper

Preparation
First, prepare the shellfish. Put the clams and pippies in a large bowl of cold salted water in the fridge for 30 minutes to clean out the sand and grit. Scrub and de-beard the mussels.

In a large pot, heat some extra virgin virgin olive oil, then add the diced onion, leek and parsley stalks and cook for a few minutes at medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and cook off for a minute or two until fragrant. Cut the lemons in half, give them a squeeze into the pot and place them at the bottom. Cut the potatoes in half and add them to the bottom of the pot; the lemon and potato will create a layer for the seafood to sit upon and allow steam to circulate from the bottom up. Add the corn and place the blue swimmer crabs on top. Pour in the white wine, cover with a lid and steam for about 10 minutes on a medium to high heat. Next add the mussels, vongole and pippies, put the lid back on and cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the shells open up. Season with some salt and pepper and then put in the prawns. These will take no time at all the cook, just cover the pot with the lid and leave for another 1-2 minutes or until they're coloured.

Squeeze some more lemon juice over the top and then pour the whole thing onto a large serving platter or, as I like to do, serve straight onto a table covered in newspaper. Season with some salt and pepper, a few chilli flakes if you like it a little spicy, and serve with plenty of crusty bread and herb butter.