Spaghetti alle Vongole – Spaghetti with Clams

September 3, 2014 by Soup Guru 6 Comments

Spaghetti alle Vongole

Spaghetti alle Vongole

I can’t wait for the soup season (I mean, autumn) to start! But there are still a few weeks of summer left where I live and although I’m anxious to start wearing jackets, boots and to throw a duvet over my sheets I’m trying to fully enjoy these last warm days. And I certainly do, with the same anticipation I start  savouring a trip when preparing it!

Last weekend while shopping for groceries, we decided we wanted pasta for dinner (I know, carbs for supper! who does that nowadays? well… we do sometimes… uppsss) and in a sudden inspiration strike I remembered I had frozen clams and Spaghetti alle Vongole immediately came to my mind!

Like many others of Italian pasta dishes the sauce is actually simple both by its preparation and number of ingredients but the flavour resulting by its combination is supreme! And this was indeed the case, we loved them!

I added my own twist by changing the fresh parsley traditionally used in this recipe by fresh basil; mainly because there was no parsley left at the supermarket and I had a pair of basil plants thriving on my balcony.

I encourage you to try it, this is one of those easy but success-guaranteed recipes that I use either when entertaining or just to indulge myself with something extremely yummy but not decadent.

• Time: 30mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

• 250 g spaghetti
• a dash of olive oil
• a garlic clove, pressed
• 1 peperoncino (or two Cayenne pepper pods)
• a handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 glass of white cooking wine (I used Chardonnay)
• 450 g frozen clams (if using fresh, soak them in cold water for half an hour and rinse them before using)
• 1 tomato, diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• more basil to garnish (optional)

Preparation

1.  In a deep sided pot, cook the spaghetti “al dente” in boiling salted water according to package instructions (generally 8 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, briefly sauté the garlic, peperoncino and basil over medium heat.
3. Pour the wine, add the clams, stir and cook over high heat until the clams open.
4. Lower the heat to medium, stir in the diced tomato, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until it has soften.
5. Once ready, strain the spaghetti (leaving a little cooking water) and add them to the pan with the sauce,
6. Mix to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes to let the spaghetti impregnate with the sauce flavours.
7. Garnish with more fresh basil, serve immediately and enjoy!

Spaghetti alle Vongole

Spaghetti alle Vongole

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