Spaghetti alle Vongole (Spaghetti with Clams)
This pasta dish is one of my favorite seafood dishes. A recipe full of simple ingredients that must be executed correctly and with speed. It does not take long to make but it can be difficult to execute. The key is to be prepared before you begin, because everything happens really quickly. Prep all of your ingredients before you before and you can do this!
The two key factors to making this dish fabulous are:
1 – Do not burn the garlic! This will make the entire dish taste bitter.
2 – Use the starchy pasta water to thicken the sauce and create a luscious mouth feel.
Spaghetti alle Vongole
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Cockle Clams
- 5 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 bunch Fresh Parsley
- 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flake
- 1/2 cup Clam Juice **optional**
- 1 lb Spaghetti
- Lemon Zest for Garnish
- 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1/3 cup White Wine of choice (I'm using Pinot Grigio)
Instructions
- Start by soaking the cockles in salted cold water for 1 hour. This will allow them to spit out any sand they have inside.
- After an hour, rinse the cockles well to get all the sand off.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Mince the parsley and garlic. Set Aside.
- Boil the pasta in salted water while preparing the cockles.
- Into a large saute pan, add 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic, parsley stalks, and red pepper flake. Place on medium heat and cook until garlic just starts to sizzle and become fragrant.
- Add the cockles and place the lid on. Steam until they all open up. Add white wine. Cook the wine for a few mins to cook out the alcohol.
- Remove the cockles from the pan and set aside. To the saute pan, add clam juice and bring to a boil to reduce a bit.
- Add the pasta while it is still al dente, and finish cooking in the sauce. Add some starchy pasta water a little at a time until you start to see a nice creamy sauce start to form. It should only take a couple of ladle fulls.
- Remove most of the cockles from their shells leaving a few still with the shell. Add the clams and fresh chopped parsley into the pasta and mix well.
- Serve topped with lemon zest and more fresh parsley.
Video
@frannielovesfood Spaghetti alle Vongole INGREDIENTS * 1 1/2 lbs Cockle Clams * 5 cloves Garlic, minced * 1 bunch Fresh Parsley * 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flake * 1/2 cup Clam Juice **optional** * 1 lb Spaghetti * Lemon Zest for Garnish * 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil * 1/3 cup White Wine of choice (I’m using Pinot Grigio) #spaghetti #vongole #clams #seafood #italianfood #pasta #foodtok #homecooking #feastofthesevenfishes #frannielovesfood #recipesoftiktok
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