Linguine Alle Vongole
Linguine alle Vongole, or pasta with clams, is a simple but impressive dish that combines fresh clams and al dente pasta tossed together in a garlicky white wine sauce and finished with fresh parsley.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 dozen little neck clams scrubbed and cleaned
- 1 10-ounce can baby clams drained, save the juice
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 4 small anchovy fillets
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 15 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups pasta water will most likely not need all of it
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Note: Due to the inherent saltiness of the clams, it is recommended to use less salt than normal.
- Heat a large pan or pot to medium-low heat with extra virgin oil. Add the garlic and anchovies and saute until the garlic turns lightly golden and the anchovies mostly dissolve. Add the hot red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for another 20-30 seconds.
- Add the wine and whole clams to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and cover. Remove clams as they open and set aside in a bowl tented with foil to keep warm.
- While the clams are steaming add the linguine the pot of boiling water. Cook the pasta until it is 1 minute less than al dente and make sure to reserve at least 2 cups of the pasta water before draining.
- After all the clams have opened (discard any that do not open after 7-8 minutes) turn the heat down to medium and add half the parsley, reserved clam juice, and 1 cup of pasta water.
- Add the pasta to the sauce along with the chopped baby clams. Thoroughly coat the pasta with the sauce and continue to cook until al dente. Once the linguine is al dente turn off the heat and mix in the whole clams and butter.
- Taste test and season with salt and pepper if required. If more sauce is needed just add more of the reserved pasta water to get the perfect consistency. I prefer this dish to have a lot of sauce!
- Serve in plates with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The recipe makes 4 large or 6 moderate sized servings.
- No salt was added due to the inherent saltiness of the clams, anchovies, and pasta water. Adjust according to taste right before serving.
- Larger clams such as top necks or cherry stones can be used. Simply steam, removed from shells, and chop into bite size pieces.
- Any clams unopened after about 7-8 minutes of steaming are most likely dead and should be discarded.
- The extra reserved pasta water can loosen up the sauce if it dries out while waiting for guests to be seated. Use a few ounces at a time.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 621kcal | Carbohydrates: 78.9g | Protein: 24.1g | Fat: 20.3g | Saturated Fat: 5.5g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 720mg | Potassium: 399mg | Fiber: 3.8g | Sugar: 3.9g | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 13mg
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