Any pasta tossed in olive oil with sizzling garlic slices and red pepper flakes is delicious, but the addition of fresh clams and white wine make it extra special and irresistible. The thought of dealing with clams can seem intimidating, but it’s actually very easy – you just throw them in a pot with some liquid (in this case white wine and fresh lemon juice) and the hot steam will open them up, cook them and infuse them! Just make sure that you scrub and rinse the clams well before putting them in the pot, because if there is any sand on them that’s coming in your sauce, and nothing is worse than that crunchy grainy texture when eating your delicious pasta.

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Spaghetti alle Vongole

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

For the pasta

• 1 pound dry spaghetti pasta or linguine
• 2 tablespoons salt

For the clams

• 20 fresh clams Littleneck or Manila (about 10 clams per pound)
• 1/4 cup olive oil extra-virgin
• 1/3 cup sliced garlic
• 1 teaspoons red pepper flakes or to taste
• 3/4 cup dry white wine e.g. Pinot Grigio
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves

Instructions

Clean the clams

• Make sure all the clams are tightly closed. Discard any clams that do not close when touched (this means that they are dead).
• Scrub the clams with a firm brush and rinse with cold water very thoroughly.
• Let the clams sit in a bowl of lightly salted water for about 10 minutes to purge any sand. The clams will go straight into the pot for the sauce, so the pasta will taste grainy if you don’t get all the sand out at this point.
  
• Drain and set aside. If you don’t drain the water well, the clams will splatter when you add them to the hot olive oil.

Boil the pasta

• Add the salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
• Begin preparing the sauce while you are waiting for the water to boil (see instructions below).
• Add the pasta to the boiled water and cook to al dente according to package directions, usually about 9 minutes. Drain the pasta well. You do not want to overcook the pasta here since you will be tossing it with some sauce later.

Prepare the sauce

• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or a deep sauté pan with a lid (pot must be large enough to fit all of the clams and pasta).
  
• Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add the clams, wine, and lemon juice.
  
• Cover and cook, shaking the pot periodically until all the clams are opened, about 10-15 minutes. Discard any clams that have not opened.
  
• Raise the heat up to medium-high heat. Add the hot, drained pasta to the pot. Add the butter and season with salt and pepper. Toss the pasta with the clams until nicely coated with the sauce.
• Sprinkle the chopped parsley, toss again and serve.