← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 1 kg small live clams (vongole)
• 350 g spaghetti or linguine
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 Red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 1 bunch small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Black pepper
• salt, for soaking and for the pasta water

Method

1. Soak the clams in cold, salted water for 1 hour so they spit out any sand, then rinse. Throw away any with cracked shells, or that stay open when tapped.
2. Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil and start cooking the spaghetti.
3. Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large lidded pan over medium heat and fry the garlic and chilli for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the clams and wine, cover and cook over high heat for 3–4 min, shaking the pan, until the shells open.
4. Lift out about half the clams and take the meat out of the shells if you like; discard any that stayed shut. Keep the rest in the pan with the juices.
5. Drain the pasta when it is 2 minutes short of al dente and add it to the clam pan. Toss over high heat for 2 min so it finishes cooking in the clam juice, adding a splash of pasta water if it looks dry.
6. Return the reserved clams, toss through the parsley and plenty of black pepper, and serve straight away.

Tips

• Buy clams the day you cook them and keep them cold under a damp cloth, never sealed in a bag or sitting in fresh water.
• No cheese: Italians find it hides the taste of the sea.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano BBC Good Food Pasta Grammar