This spaghetti alle vongole (pasta with clams) recipe uses just a few simple ingredients — fresh clams, tomatoes, garlic, and parsley — to create a fresh and delicate pasta dish. It’s a staple dish in coastal Italian towns, since fresh clams have tons of flavour and are readily available. Easy and absolutely delicious, it’s a simple pasta dish that’s ready in just over 30 minutes.
Spaghetti alle vongole is one of my favorite pasta dishes. It's one I make often in my Italian kitchen, plus it reminds me of my mom's hometown of Sperlonga. Sperlonga is an Italian seaside town, and this dish is one that you'll find very easily in any Italian coastal town.
I eat it often in Sperlonga, in restaurants, at the beach clubs, and in my nonna's kitchen. Like I said, it's one of the most staple dishes in the town. This recipe is the one that my Zia Leonina (my mom's sister) taught me to make. Her recipe includes a small amount of tomatoes, and as I understand it, the tomato version is the version they make in Naples. You could also omit the tomatoes and it would be just as delicious.
If you're looking for a seafood pasta recipe that requires a bit less work than spaghetti alle vongole, then definitely give this canned tuna spaghetti a try.
It's all in the mantecatura
The key to nailing this dish is finishing the pasta in the pan with the tomatoes and clam juice - this is called mantecatura. There's actually no direct translation of this Italian word into English.
This will allow the pasta to release its starches and absorb the sauce well. Finishing the pasta in the sauce like this is the secret to getting restaurant quality pasta at home.
How to make it
Extra tips
- If you can, try to remove each clam from the pot right as each clam opens. This is a bit of a tedious process, but will help to ensure that the clams don't dry out.
- Don't forget the clam water (the water that is at the bottom of the pot once the clams have opened). This is what gives the dish a lot of its flavour.
- No need to season this dish with cheese - in fact, in Italy, parmesan is never an option with spaghetti alle vongole.
- Since the pasta will cook a bit more with the sauce for a few minutes, make sure you remove the the pasta before it's al dente
Recipe
Spaghetti Alle Vongole (Homemade Clam Pasta)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fresh clams
- 2 cloves garlic very finely chopped, almost into a paste
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 15 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 250 grams spaghetti
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a pot add clams. Place the lid on the pot, and over medium heat, let the clams cook until they open. If you can, try to remove each clam from the pot right as each clam opens. This is a bit of a tedious process, but will help to ensure that the clams don't dry out.
- In the mean time, cut the tomatoes into quarters, finely mince the garlic, almost into a paste (so that it melts into the olive oil) and roughly chop the parsley.
- Once the clams are all open, reserve the clam water from the pot by straining it into a bowl.
- Remove most of the clams from their shells, and leave a few in their shells to top the pasta with. Set aside.
- In a large pan, over medium heat, heat up the olive oil, garlic, and two parsley stems. Let them cook until garlic is fragrant. Remove the parsley stems.
- In the mean time, boil pasta water, and cook spaghetti until before al dente. The pasta will continue cooking in the pan with the tomatoes and clam juice. The pasta should be done cooking by the time the tomatoes are cooked.
- To the garlic, add tomatoes to the pan. Let them cook until a sauce starts to form, about 10 minutes.
- Add pasta to the pan, along with clam juice, minced parsley and clams that were removed from their shells.
- Mix everything together with tongs (still over medium heat), and let the pasta absorb the clam juice, about 2-4 minutes. If you don't have enough clam juice, add some pasta water.
- Plate, top with the clams in their shells, and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
But if you do have leftovers, you can reheating in a warm pan with some olive oil.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
This looks delicious! I'd be so honored if you shared it at our What's for Dinner link party. Share as many recipes as you like!
http://www.lazygastronome.com/whats-for-dinner-sunday-link-up-172/
Have a wonderful rest of the week!