Spaghetti alle Vongole

Equipment

• Covered pot
• wide pan
• fine sieve and paper filter
• pasta pot

Before you begin

US cup = 240 ml; tablespoon = 15 ml; teaspoon = 5 ml. Use listed gram weights for consistency; weights are raw or dry unless described as cooked or drained.

• Use commercially cooked clam meat if live clams are unavailable; follow reheating instructions.

Make it work

• Shell-on weight is not edible meat weight. Cooking does not make shellfish harvested from unsafe waters safe.

Ingredients

• 320 g / 11.3 oz Spaghetti, dry
• 1 kg / 2.2 lb Live clams, shell-on
• 45 ml / about 3 Tbsp Olive oil
• 3 cloves / 12 g / 0.4 oz Garlic, sliced
• 100 ml / 3.4 US fl oz Dry white wine
• 15 g / 0.5 oz Parsley, chopped
• 0.5 g / about 1/4 tsp Chili flakes
• 15 g / about 2 1/2 tsp Salt for pasta water
• 3 L / 12.7 US cups Pasta water

Step-by-step method

1. Inspect and clean clams
   Discard cracked shells and clams that stay open when tapped. Scrub under cold running water. Follow refrigerated purging instructions from the supplier if required; do not keep live clams in airtight water-filled containers.
2. Open in a covered pot
   Heat half the oil with half the garlic for 30 seconds. Add wine and clams, cover and cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, shaking the pot, until shells open and flesh is firm. Discard any that do not open.
3. Filter the liquor
   Lift clams out with a slotted spoon. Pour their liquid through a fine sieve lined with a damp paper filter into a bowl; do not pour sandy sediment back into the sauce.
4. Cook pasta
   Boil spaghetti in measured salted water for 1 minute less than package al dente time. Reserve 300 ml / 1.3 US cups cooking water before draining.
5. Finish in the pan
   Warm remaining oil, garlic and chili in a wide pan. Add filtered clam liquid and pasta; toss 1-2 minutes. Add pasta water only as needed because clam liquor is salty.
6. Add clams and parsley
   Fold in hot clams and parsley briefly. Divide all pasta and edible clam meat among four bowls; keep shell fragments out of the food.

Cook’s notes

Shell-on weight is not edible meat weight. Cooking does not make shellfish harvested from unsafe waters safe.

Storage & reheating

• Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly and use within 1 day; reheat to 74 C / 165 F. Follow supplier advice for storing live clams.

Allergens

Contains: wheat, mollusks; wine may contain sulfites. Check packaged ingredients.

Approximate nutrition

Per serving: 457 kcal · Protein 18 g · Carbohydrates 63 g · Fat 12 g.

Approximate per serving of the complete recipe. Brands, substitutions, cooking losses and portion sizes affect the figures.