Clam salad with marjoram

I had this pasta dish in Rome - spaghetti with clam, garish with crushed fresh mint - the combination sounds innovative to me (is it common in your area?). Before my first bite I speculated the whole thing going straight down to trash (I hate mint), but no! The mint-y aroma simply charmed through the taste of ocean. Now back home, my pot of marjoram grows merrier than ever (it only had a few limbs throughout last summer in yard). The new branches keep coming out and yearning for 'try me try me!'. Well, its pine-y fragrance almost like menthol does make me nostalgic. So some marjoram is crushed in this clam salad... Bravissima!

The basic rule for a great salad - use everything super-fresh. Old and withered vegetable still won't taste any better even after the salad dressing anyway. Here is my choice for this salad: clam, just cooked (octopus is great too!), carrot, green and yellow zucchini. For the dressing: mix key lime juice, olive oil, a pinch of sugar, and little crushed marjoram. Toss with clam and vegetable. Sprinkle a few sea salt flakes and crushed red pepper before serve.