Spaghetti alle Vongole
Clams, garlic, white wine and parsley in a briny emulsified sauce
- Serves
- 4
- Hands-on
- Total
- Level
- Some skill
Good seaside pasta needs only fresh clams and good timing. The clams steam open in wine and garlic and release their sea-salty juice, which is then emulsified with olive oil and pasta water into a sauce that tastes of the ocean.
Ingredients
- 1 kgsmall fresh clams (2¼ lb)vongole veraci or Manila, in their shells
- 350 gspaghetti or linguine (12 oz)
- 6 tbspextra-virgin olive oilplus extra to finish
- 4 clovesgarlicthinly sliced
- ½ tspdried chili flakes
- 120 mldry white wine (½ cup)
- 20 gflat-leaf parsley (¾ cup)finely chopped, stems kept separate
- 25 gfine sea salt (1¼ tbsp)for the pasta water; plus salt for purging
- Diet
- Dairy-free, Pescatarian
- Allergens
- gluten, molluscs, sulphites
- Origin
- Italy (Naples)
- Season
- Spring, Summer
Method
- Purge the clams: soak them in cold salted water (1 tbsp salt per liter) for 30 minutes so they spit out sand. Lift them out, leaving the grit behind. Discard any with cracked shells or that stay open when tapped.
- Bring 4 L (4 qt) water to a boil with 25 g (1¼ tbsp) salt — a little lighter than usual, because the clams are salty. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet says.
- Meanwhile, warm the oil, garlic, chili and chopped parsley stems in a large, wide pan with a lid over medium heat until the garlic is pale gold, 2–3 minutes.
- Turn the heat to high, add the clams and wine, and cover. Cook, shaking the pan, until the clams open, 3–5 minutes. Discard any that refuse to open after 6 minutes.
- Lift the pasta straight into the clam pan. Toss over high heat for 2 minutes, adding pasta water a splash at a time, until the pasta is al dente (tender with a slight bite) and the juices have thickened into a cloudy, glossy sauce.
- Take off the heat, toss in the parsley leaves and a final drizzle of olive oil. Taste — it rarely needs salt — and serve at once, with a bowl for the shells.
Why it works
Clams release their own briny liquor as they open, and that seawater-salty juice is the base of the sauce. Finishing the slightly undercooked pasta in that liquid lets it absorb the flavor, while its starch binds the juice and oil into a light emulsion.
Common mistakes
- Overcooking the clams: they turn rubbery. Pull the pan as soon as most have opened.
- Skipping the purge: one gritty clam ruins a bowl.
- Adding cheese: in Italy, cheese is almost never served with seafood pasta; it masks the clams.
Variations
- Mussels
- Use 1 kg cleaned mussels instead of clams; they open faster, in 3 minutes.
- With tomatoes
- Add 200 g halved cherry tomatoes with the garlic for a red version (in rosso).
Notes
Clams must be alive when cooked: tightly closed or closing when tapped. Cook on the day you buy them, keeping them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, not in water or sealed plastic.
