Spaghetti alle Vongole

This traditional “Spaghetti with Clams” is a staple of Italian cooking – simple to make, the most important thing to remember is not to make it too soupy. This recipe is for 4 portions:

Ingredients:

3/4 Pound Spaghetti

1 Pound Manila Clams – I prefer the smaller the better, they are tastier and less rubbery.

Olive Oil

3-4 Cloves of garlic crushed.

¼ cup white wine

1/4 cup pasta water

Salt, Pepper

Handful of chopped parsley

Boil water in a nice big pot add a fist full of salt and add spaghetti – cook al dente.

In the meantime rinse clams. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a sauté pan and heat the oil until it gets nice and hot, add the clams and cover. Cook for about 4-5 minutes covered tightly, shaking pan back and forth a few times to move the clams around. Once clams have opened, they will have released their liquid, strain into a bowl discarding any clams that have not opened, and set remaining clams and their liquid aside.

Return the pan to the heat, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and the garlic. Cook garlic until browned and infused with the oil – do not burn the garlic – add the clams and their juice to the pan, add the wine and cook on high heat until the liquid reduces a bit. Strain the pasta add to the pan with the ¼ cup of pasta water, heat and mix the pasta letting some of the liquid evaporate, add the parsley and a good stream of additional olive oil – serve piping hot.

Now you have a perfect plate of Spaghetti alle Vongole. Serves 4.

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