Spaghetti Alle Vongole is a dish of spaghetti pasta cooked with fresh clams, parsley, garlic and olive oil, and a few more ingredients that may vary from one recipe to another. It originates from the coastal areas of Southern Italy – to be more precise, Naples – but has gained popularity all over the country as well as abroad. The light sauce with unmistakable flavours of the sea time after time evokes a feeling of summer, ocean and alfresco dining on a long peaceful evening. No wonder that spaghetti alle vongole are seen as a quintessential summer dish, no matter where you are in the world.
The Flavour Affair:
Clams + Garlic + White Wine + Extra Virgin Olive Oil + Parsley
An absolute classic in one of its simplest forms: al dente spaghetti in a delicate emulsion of clam brine, white wine, olive oil, garlic and fresh parsley.
Clams: there are many regional variations of this dish, and that includes the types of clams. You will find recipes featuring anything from tiny lupini to classic vongole veraci. But really you can use any type you like – the procedure remains the same. Just make sure the clams are super fresh (alive, in fact).
Garlic: it’s all about the balance. While you should be able to both smell and taste garlic, a little too much can be overpowering. My rule of thumb is 1 garlic clove per 1kg of clams.
White Wine: although the addition of white wine is a more modern variation, these days the ingredient is almost canonical. Dry, crisp white wine adds complexity to the sauce with an aromatic trail of fruity and citrus notes. Both classic Italian Pinot Grigio or a young Sauvignon Blanc are good here.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO): bright and fragrant, it further enhances the flavours of the sauce. To make it more authentic, get a great quality Italian evoo: peppery and a little bitter, with grassy freshness and a warm summery feel.
Parsley is essential for Spaghetti Alle Vongole, and I like to add it during different stages of cooking. About half a table spoon goes into the sauce for the flavours to impart and blend in. The rest is sprinkled over the ready dish for a bolder, brighter finish.
More often than not, I would also use red chili flakes – just a little pinch for a mild kick. And I always round it off with a couple of grinds of black pepper mill.
Preparation tips for Spaghetti Alle Vongole:
Let’s start with choosing the clams. To ensure they are fresh (and alive), they need to be stored properly. Your best bet is to pick them off ice, packed into a mesh bag so that they can breath.
Next, check the clams one by one and discard those with broken shells.
Then, you need to thoroughly clean them. This is the most important step, because nothing ruins a dining experience like grains of sand on your teeth. Here’s what has to be done:
- Wash the clams. Start by rinsing them under running cold water. I then usually use a toothbrush to scrub off stubborn bits of dirt, both from the crevices and on the outside.
- Soak the clams. Soaking allows the clams to open and release the sand and gunk that’s still inside. Important: you need to use sea salt for this step, at the ratio of 30g of sea salt per 1l of water. Fill a large bowl with cold tap water, add the salt and whisk for it to dissolve. Add the clams and make sure they are completely submerged; place the bowl into a cool corner of your kitchen. Allow the clams to sit in the water for 1.5-2 hours, then take them out with a blotted spoon.
- Rinse again. Place the clam into a colander and rinse with clean water from the tap.
And now, they are ready!
There are different ways to cook the clams for spaghetti alle vongole, and I prefer the method where they are precooked. This allows to remove the meat from some of them beforehand, making it easier to enjoy the pasta. The process is following:
- Heat a large pot to medium-high, add the clams and cook, covered, for 3-5 minutes until they open. Discard the ones that haven’t, remove from the pot and reserve the liquid they have produced. If you feel that even after soaking the liquid is not clean enough, strain it through a fine mesh.
- Let the clams cool down and remove the meat from about 2/3 of them.
- In a pan, fry garlic and chili flakes (if using) in 2 tbsp of evoo until the garlic turns fragrant. Add the clams with their liquid, 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley, another table spoon of evoo and 2/3 glass of white wine.
- Allow the liquid to simmer until the alcohol evaporates and turn the heat off.
- Cook spaghetti to al dente, drain and reserve 1/2 cups of starchy pasta water. Add the spaghetti to the pan with the clams and toss everything together. Add a little cooking water if the pasta seems dry.
- Try and season with salt to taste. Sprinkle with more fresh parsley and serve immediately.
Enjoy your pasta with some fresh bread to mop up every last bit of the delicious and delicate sauce!
Looking for more seafood pastas? Make sure to try out my Ultimate Lobster Pasta Recipe!
.
Spaghetti Alle Vongole (Easy and Authentic)
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 medium pot
- 1 large pan or skillet
Ingredients
- 2 kg of fresh clams
- 320 g spaghetti pasta
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 glasses of dry white wine
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley divided
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes optional
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
- Sea salt for soaking
Instructions
- Check the clams and discard those with broken shells.
- Thoroughly rinse the clams under running cold water. Use a brush (can be a simple toothbrush) to scrub off the dirt from the crevices and the outside.
- In a large bowl, dissolve 30g of sea salt per each litre of cold water. Place the clams into the bowl and make sure they are fully submerged.
- Allow the clams to sit in the water for 1.5-2 hours, then take them out with a blotted spoon.
- Rinse once again under running water.
- Heat a medium pot to medium-high. Pour in the clams, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes until they open. Discard those that haven’t.
- Reserve the liquid they have produced. If the liquid still seems not clear enough, strain it through a fine sieve.
- Allow the clams to cool and remove the meat from about 2/3.
- In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to medium.
- Add garlic and chili flakes (if using) and fry for a couple of minutes until the garlic turns fragrant.
- Add the clams with their liquid, half of the parsley, 2 more table spoons of evoo and 2/3 glass of white wine.
- Simmer until the alcohol evaporates and turn the heat off.
- Cook spaghetti one minute short of al dente.
- Drain and reserve 1/2 cups of starchy pasta cooking water.
- Add the spaghetti to the pan with clams and heat through. Add a little pasta cooking water if the pasta seems dry.
- Taste and adjust for salt, if necessary.
- Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, finish off with a grind of black pepper mill and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use Pinot Grigio or a young Sauvignon Blanc for this recipe.
- Spaghetti alle vongole don’t keep well, so best serve them immediately.
33 Responses
After all, what a great site and informative posts, I will upload inbound link – bookmark this web site? Regards, Reader.
Very interesting info!Perfect just what I was searching for!
Hello my family member! I wish to say that this article is awesome, nice written and come with almost all vital infos. I would like to look extra posts like this .
It’s arduous to search out knowledgeable individuals on this topic, however you sound like you realize what you’re speaking about! Thanks
Thanks for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do some research on this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such great info being shared freely out there.
I used to be more than happy to seek out this web-site.I wished to thanks for your time for this glorious learn!! I undoubtedly having fun with every little little bit of it and I’ve you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you blog post.
Very efficiently written information. It will be helpful to everyone who usess it, as well as myself. Keep doing what you are doing – for sure i will check out more posts.
Hydrogen Peroxide Trick
Hydrogen Peroxide Trick For Men
I want looking through and I think this website got some truly utilitarian stuff on it! .
My brother recommended I might like this web site. He was once totally right. This post actually made my day. You can not believe simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thank you!
I like this post, enjoyed this one appreciate it for putting up. “The goal of revival is conformity to the image of Christ, not imitation of animals.” by Richard F. Lovelace.
I believe you have remarked some very interesting points, thankyou for the post.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this excellent blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will share this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..extra wait .. …
Whoa! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a totally different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!
Aí sim. O Candy Bonanza não para de soltar carta boa.
I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are very convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are too short for beginners. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.
Hi, Neat post. There is an issue together with your web site in internet explorer, may check this?K IE nonetheless is the market chief and a large portion of folks will leave out your fantastic writing because of this problem.
Hi! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!
I take pleasure in, cause I discovered exactly what I used to be taking a look for. You’ve ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
Hi there, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can recommend? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any assistance is very much appreciated.
Hi! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
I was reading through some of your blog posts on this internet site and I conceive this website is really informative ! Continue putting up.
I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are really convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are very short for starters. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.
Aw, this was a very nice post. In concept I wish to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.
Good day! This is kind of off topic but I need some guidance from an established blog. Is it very difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thanks
I have been browsing online greater than 3 hours nowadays, but I by no means found any fascinating article like yours. It’s beautiful price enough for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made excellent content material as you probably did, the web will be a lot more helpful than ever before.
Good write-up, I’m normal visitor of one’s blog, maintain up the nice operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
It’s really a nice and helpful piece of info. I am glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
You could definitely see your expertise in the work you write. The arena hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. All the time follow your heart.
It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Loved it!