Spaghetti alle Vongole (the easiest spaghetti with clams)
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium cloves of garlic, crushed through a press
- 2/3 cup [50 g] panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup [20 g] chopped parsley
For the clams:
- 7 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 1 1/2 cups [350 g] dry white wine (about half a bottle*)
- 2 lb [905 g] fresh, live clams, purged**
- 1/4 cup [60 g] extra virgin olive oil
For the pasta:
- Boiling water
- 10 oz [285 g] spaghetti (or another long pasta)
Instructions
- Place the olive oil and crushed garlic in a medium stockpot or dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once the garlic starts quietly sizzling, add the breadcrumbs and stir everything together. Stir constantly until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown (about 5 minutes).
- Once the bread crumbs have toasted, remove to a bowl. Place the parsley in another bowl. Do not wash the pot.
- Set the pot back over high heat. Add the sliced garlic and white wine. Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes, until it’s reduced to just about 1/2 cup and thickens slightly.
- In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Don’t salt it.
- Add the clams to the wine reduction. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat, just until most of the clams open. Remove opened ones with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, leaving behind any closed ones. Cook the closed ones*** for another 2 minutes. Throw out any ones that never open and keep the newly opened ones.
- Raise the wine/clam liquor to high heat. Taste and see note if it is extremely salty.**** Let it reduce down for about 5 minutes. It should once again thicken and reduce down to about 3/4 cup.
- While you’re waiting for the sauce to reduce, place your pasta in the boiling water and cook to al dente according to the package instructions. Once done, drain and do not rinse (toss in a little olive oil if the sauce is not done).
- Taste the sauce again and adjust seasoning. It should taste salty but not too salty. Once you’re happy with the sauce, add the olive oil, clams, and pasta and remove from heat.
- Add half the breadcrumbs and half the parsley to the pot with the clams and pasta. Toss together. Move to a serving bowl, top with more breadcrumbs and parsley, and enjoy.
Notes
* This is not time to break out a pricey bottle. Use whatever inexpensive wine tastes pretty good to you. You shouldn’t wince when you take a sip, but you don’t need to want to take another.
** Purging means letting your clams sit in salty water for an hour or so and then lifting them out. You should also sort through your clams and discard any dead ones (those are flopped open and/or broken). Here’s a great guide to purging.
*** It’s a common misconception that closed clams are necessarily dead. Once cooked, clams release and flop open. Closed clams usually just need another couple minutes of steaming with the lid on. However, if they don’t open even after a few more minutes of cooking, throw those away. Never eat a clam that does not open after steaming.
**** If it is too salty, don’t despair. Remove some of the liquid (remove a lot if it’s extremely salty). Add some white wine to replace the amount lost, and reduce from there. Clams range a lot in their saltiness. I’ve needed this trick a few times, but I’ve also had times where I did not need to use it. It really depends!
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