Spaghetti alle Vongole
A delicious pasta dish made with clams that is one of the most delicious dishes in traditional Neapolitan cuisine.
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Servings: 4 people
Calories: 503kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti dry, or linguine
- 2-3 lbs clams littleneck or small cherrystone, washed, rinsed, and drained with bad ones remvoed
- ½ to ¾ cup white wine
- 6-8 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter optional
- 2 cloves garlic finely sliced or chopped
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes to taste. Optional
- 1 bunch parsley flat-leaf, chopped
- 1 tsp Lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Kosher salt for pasta water or as needed
Instructions
- Fill a pot 3/4 of the way with water, bring to a boil and add kosher salt (or however you normally cook 1lb of pasta).
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and remove it when it's a few minutes from being fully cooked, even before it reaches al dente, because you will finish cooking it with the sauce.
- Save a bit of pasta water to add later to the sauce at the end, if needed.
- Heat most of the extra virgin olive oil and half of the butter (optional) in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add garlic, chopped or finely sliced, and cook until golden before adding red pepper flakes.
- Pour in the white wine (about one quarter of an inch deep) and add the fresh clams and cover the pan to steam cook them for several minutes.
- When most of the clams open, uncover and then remove and discard any that haven't opened yet.
- Use tongs and a fork to remove some of the clams from their shells and discard the shells (this is not a required step, but can make it easier to plate and enjoy the dish, you can leave them all in the shell if you prefer).
- Add the drained spaghetti to the pan and toss with the sauce and clams. Add a small amount of reserved pasta water if needed, but do not make the sauce too watery. Keep cooking until the pasta is al dente.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chopped parsley (reserve a small amount for garnishing), lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- Drizzle with remaining extra virgin olive oil, toss one more time, and plate. Garnish the finished dish with the remaining parsley.
Notes
Variations of spaghetti alle vongole
There are two main versions of this dish, known simply as bianco and rosso, or white and red. Red refers to the presence of tomatoes in the dish. The dish is delicious either way, but the white is the most traditional form, as seen in the recipe below. To make this recipe in a "red" version, add cherry tomatoes (cut in half or slightly crushed) or chopped Roma tomatoes after you add the wine. This will give the tomatoes enough time to break down and add a sweet acidity to the dish but not turn it into an outright tomato sauce, which is not the goal. This dish is made up and down the coast of Italy, so many regional variations exist, for example in Liguria they add diced potatoes. There is a lot of experimenting you can do once you master the basics, and it will probably come out great as long as you don't overpower the briny sweetness of the clams and they remain the star of the dish.Serving: 100g | Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 239mg | Potassium: 401mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1647IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 3mg
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