Of all the wonderful seafood pasta recipes there are here in Italy, pasta with clams is probably the top of the best seller list. Not surprising given how delicious this iconic Neapolitan dish is! This linguine alle vongole is my Sicilian hubby’s recipe. He’s pretty generous with the garlic and peperoncino but it’s just the way we like it!
Red clam sauce or white?
Like many other similar dishes, pasta with clams is traditionally made in what Italians call a red or white version (rosso o bianco); in other words, with tomatoes or without. We normally eat our vongole pasta without tomatoes.
My hubby is the chef when we want to eat linguine alle vongole. Being Sicilian, he’s a star when it comes to seafood dishes and I’m happy to leave him to it. In my opinion, his pasta with clams is the best I’ve ever tasted and I’m not saying that because we’re married!
Ingredients.
The right clams or vongole.
The main ingredient for a ‘real’ Italian pasta alle vongole is ‘vongola verace’ commonly known as the cross-cut carpet shell clam. This ridged shell clam is found both farmed and wild here in Italy, but I’ve read that the taste is the same as they eat only what’s in the sea.
If you do find vongole veraci, they can be a bit more expensive than other clams. But they are worth the extra cost, definitely the best clams! Plus, apart from being really delicious, these clams are self-cleaning so they’re unlikely to have sand in them and make the dish much easier to prepare.
Of course, many people make pasta alle vongole with other types of clams. The Manila clam, which many Italians call the fake ‘verace’, is widely farmed in the Adriatic sea and Sardinia. Consequently, these are used by many cooks to make linguine alle vongole.
Manila clams look very similar to vongole veraci. Another popular clam is the rayed artemis clam. These are smaller, whiter and more rounded but still taste really good too! A popular alternative in the US are little necks which are small clams similar to Manila clams and widely available in North America.
Of course, it’s possible to use canned clams, but in my opinion you won’t get anywhere near the same flavour, as with fresh live clams.
The pasta.
Traditionally, this recipe is made with spaghetti, vermicelli or linguine. We used linguine made by La Molisana. I prefer linguine for this dish because this pasta has more surface area to soak up the sauce. But, any narrow long pasta works well. Spaghetti alle vongole is a popular restaurant item in the US. Italians don’t usually use short pasta in this dish.
Other ingredients.
Apart from the linguine and clams, this linguine pasta alle vongole recipe has very few other ingredients. In fact, most versions contain nothing more than garlic, peperoncino (Italian red chili pepper), white wine, olive oil and parsley.
The garlic: Fresh garlic is a must for pasta with clams. We like this dish very garlicky and use up to 6-8 cloves. Of course, you can use less if you prefer.
The peperoncino: You can use fresh peperoncino (red chilli peppers) or red chili flakes. Again, the amount you use depends on personal taste.
Fresh parsley: Fresh parsley leaves is also a must, dried doesn't work well. The parsley is usually added before serving. It adds a lovely herby freshness to vongole pasta.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil has the best flavor. We use the olive oil to cook the ingredients and add a little before serving.
White wine: Wine is optional. We don't always use it and my Sicilian husband feels it smothers from the other flavors. If you add wine use a dry white wine such as a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.
Keep it simple.
I recently read an article about this recipe that said, if you’re going to spend a bit for fresh clams, then you don’t want to smother their taste with lots of other flavours. I totally agree with this point of view! Having said that, my hubby is pretty generous with the garlic and peperoncino. But, you can use less if you prefer!
Step be step instructions.
1) Wash the clams in cold running water and remove any with broken shells. Some kinds of clams need a lot of rinsing if they have sand in them. But you can also filter the liquid after you have precooked them, so don’t worry so much about the sand.
2) Peel and finely chop the cloves of garlic and wash and chop the parsley.
3) Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it starts to boil add the pasta. You probably don’t need salt as the clams will already be a little salty. Cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions.
4) In the meantime, put the clams in a deep frying pan and cook covered over a medium to high heat until they have opened.
5) Remove the meat from half of the clam shells keeping the rest intact and if necessary, filter the liquid that the clams produce through a fine cloth into a bowl. Discard the empty shells.
6) Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add the garlic and peperoncino. Cook over a medium heat until the garlic starts to soften.
7) Add the clams (with shells and without) with half their liquid to the pan and cook for a few minutes. Add the white wine (if using) and cook further until the alcohol evaporates. If the sauce seems dry, pour in the rest of the clam liquid. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8) When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the pan with the cooked clams. Mix everything together well over a low heat. Then add a tablespoon of olive oil and most the chopped parsley. Mix again and serve immediately with another sprinkling of chopped parsley, if required.
Cook's Tip.
There are just 2 points that need care to make sure your linguine pasta alle vongole is perfect. Firstly, in this version the clams are cooked alone first. Then you will need to remove the meat from half of them, keeping the others in their shells to make the dish look more appetizing!
It's important to discard any unopened shells as this means the clam is dead. Don't try to open clams! Secondly, if the liquid from the clams appears to have sand in it then you will need to filter it before adding the cooked clams and liquid to the rest of the sauce ingredients.
So easy to make.
Linguine alle vongole is a dish that many people order in restaurants but rarely make at home. However, it’s actually pretty easy and there’s no residue fishy smell in the kitchen.
What you’ll get is a wonderful garlicky aroma that is so mouth- watering! We sometimes cook the clams and eat them without pasta, just a bit of bread to soak up the sauce. Delicious too!
Let me know what you think.
If you make this classic Italian seafood pasta dish I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Buon appetito!
If you like linguine you will probably love these other classic recipes from Campania
Linguine al limone (with lemon and cream)
If you like seafood pasta recipes check out these traditional ones too
Baked fish ravioli from Liguria
Fregola with clams from Sardinia
Mussels alla Tarantina from Puglia
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Linguine alle vongole recipe (pasta with clams)
Ingredients
- 11 ounces linguine or vermicelli or spaghetti
- 1.8 pounds fresh clams about 200g/7oz per person
- 5-8 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon peperoncino (red chili pepper) or dried flakes amount depends on your preference
- 4-5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 handfuls fresh parsley finely chopped
- salt to taste (we don't add it to the pasta cooking water)
- 2.5 Floz dry white wine (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the peeled garlic and parsley finely. If using a whole fresh or dried red chili chop finely too. Remove the seeds to make it milder. Be careful not to touch your eyes or mouth after doing this and wash your hands well before continuing to cook.
- Wash the clams in cold water and remove any with broken shells. Some kinds of clams need a lot of rinsing if they have sand in them. But you can also filter the liquid after you have precooked them, so don’t worry so much about the sand.
- Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it starts to boil add the pasta. You probably don’t need salt as the clams will already be a little salty.
- While the water is boiling for the pasta, put the clams in a deep frying pan and cook covered over a medium to high heat until they have opened. (about 5 minutes)
- Allow the clams to cool a little and then remove the meat from half of the clam shells keeping the rest intact. Discard the empty shells and, if necessary, filter the liquid that the clams have produced. Don't discard it.
- Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
- Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add the garlic and peperoncino. Cook until the garlic starts to soften. Add the clams (with shells and without) with cook for a few minutes. Then add some of the filtered clam water. Next, add the white wine (if using) and cook further until the alcohol evaporates. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes and then turn off the heat.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the pan with the cooked clams. Mix everything together well over a low heat. Add the chopped parsley and a litle olive oil. Mix together again and serve immediately with another sprinkling of chopped parsley, if required.
Purging the clams
- With vongole veraci it's usually not necessary to do more than rinse the clams under running water. So we never purge them.
- However, some people prefer to purge the clams of sand before cooking them. This involves filling a large bowl with cold water and stirring in enough salt to make it salty like the sea. Adding the clams and letting them stand for 30 minutes. The clams will open and release any sand they have inside. You then need to lift the clams from the water and discard the water. If there is sand in the bottom of the bowl, rinse it out and repeat this process until the clams no longer release sand into the water (usually 2 to 3 purging cycles). Discard any clams that are gaping open and refuse to close when prodded.
R K says
This recipe was easy to follow, quick to whip up and delicious to eat. I used spaghetti, dried chili flakes, and also added a chopped up tomato when I fried up the garlic & parsley. It didn’t disappoint!
Jacqui says
Thanks for your comment! This linguine with clams recipe is practically a staple at our house. We love it and make it often. So glad you enjoyed it!