Festa di Vongole
Prepare time: 15 min
Cook: Â 15 min
Ready in: 30 min
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 kg vongole (clams)
- Sea salt (big)
- 1 fresh chilli pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- Branch of fresh parsley
- Olive oil
- 100 ml white wine
- 360/400 grams of dried spaghetti (90/100 grams a person)
Preparation
To start, we have to clean the vongole. We will clean them, by tricking them as if they were in the sea. In this way they will open their shells a bit and they will spit out the dirt that’s left inside. You  need a big tray or bowl, fill it with cold water and big sea salt. Then add the vongole and leave them inside for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile bring a pot with water to boil for the pasta and start with the preparation for the rest of the ingredients. Peel and smash the garlic cloves and chop the chilli finely (seedless). Then take the parsley, wash and dry with some kitchen paper. Leave a few branches on the side and chop the leaves finely.
Now time to get back to the vongole, rinse them under cold water, take out the broken ones and the ones that are open widely, then put them back in another bowl/tray.
Bring a big sauté pan with some olive oil on the heat. Add the smashed garlic, chilli pepper and some branches of the parsley. Now leave on the heat for 4/5 minutes so the oil get’s infused with these flavours. Then add the vongole and after the white wine, let the alcohol evaporate a bit. Then cover the pan, so the vongole can steam for a couple of minutes.
Add some sea-salt to the pasta (not to much, because shellfish is salty from itself). Then boil the pasta for 8/9 minutes. Take the vongole from the pan check those who didn’t open and throw them away. Then get rid of the cloves and the branches of parsley and add pasta water. Leave on low heat simmering. When the pasta is al dente, add the spaghetti to the oil/water/vongole juices and leave simmering for another minute or two. Stir and toss the pan so the water will evaporate and the sauce will be creamy sticking around the spaghetti. Now add fresh parsley and the vongole.
Serving
Take a nice plate, add a ball of pasta in the middle and cover with clams, parsley and an extra drizzle of extra virgine olive oil.
Buon appetito!
