Name: Spaghetti in bianco con le vongole (Spaghetti with clams)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 6 tbsp dry white wine; grated rind of ½ unwaxed lemon; ¼ tsp crushed dried chillies; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 kg/2 lb 4 oz fresh live clams in their shells; ½ tbsp dried oregano (optional); 350 g/12 oz spaghetti; 3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley; salt; 5 tbsp olive oil

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Anna Del Conte on Pasta

By Anna Del Conte

Published 2015

About

The only clams I use are palourdes – also known as carpet shells or Manila clams – which in Italian are called vongole verace (‘true clams’). These are larger than the common variety of clams, have grey shells marked with a dark line, and have a far superior flavour.

Ingredients

1 kg/2 lb 4 oz fresh live clams in their shells
6 tbsp

Method

Soak the clams in a sink full of cold water and go through them carefully; throw away any that remain open after you tap them on a hard surface, and any with a cracked shell.

Rinse the clams in fresh cold water and then put them in a large sauté pan. Pour in the wine, cover the pan and cook over high heat until the clams open, about 3–4 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally so that they a