Recipe: Spaghetti alle Vongole Bianco (Clams & White Wine)

Posted in: blog

• dinner
• dinner party
• pasta
• italian
• seafood

by Nudo

Spaghetti alle vongole is a classic Italian dish, but like everything in Italy there are many ways of cooking it with everyone arguing their corner about what is best. This version is ‘bianco’, without any tomato but with extra chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Wonderfully simple but so delicious! The key is to use a good quality olive oil to get the most from its flavour. Thanks to Nudo for sharing this beautiful recipe with us.

Instructions

1 Rinse the clams in cold running water to get rid of any debris and discarding any that aren’t tightly closed. Allow the clams to soak in salty cold water for an hour or so to get rid of any sand and then rinse well under cold water until clean.

2 Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water with the lid on under the recommended time on the packet so that it remains al dente.

3 Finely slice the parsley stalks and roughly chop the leaves. Peel and chop the garlic.

4 Add a generous glug of Nudo extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Fry the garlic and parsley stalks for about 5 minutes until soft taking care to keep the heat low so it does not catch.

5 Turn up the heat on the pan and add the clams, giving the pan a good shake. As it starts to steam put the lid on and cook for 3–4 minutes until the clams have opened. Pour in the wine, cover and leave for a couple of minutes until the clams have opened discarding any that are still closed.

6 Drain the spaghetti and add to the pan of clams. Add the parsley leaves, salt and pepper, and a generous drizzle of Nudo extra virgin olive oil. Toss it around in the pan for a few minutes, mixing it all together so that the lovely juice absorbs into the pasta.

7 Serve with lemon wedges and plenty of bread to soak up the juice.

Nudo

Nudo is a collaboration of small scale, artisanal olive oil producers. The programme is a platform for micro-producers to bring high-quality, speciality food to a wider audience.