It is a plain and simple dish because it is very easy to have the clams too cooked and withered or the pasta poorly tied.
As far as clams are concerned, we can find veracious or lupine fish.
Lupins are subject to fishing alone, while veracious clams can also be cultivated. The shape differences see rounded lupins and very short siphons, while the clams have a more elongated shape and above all a siphon that can be more than 2 centimeters long. Furthermore the shell of the lupine is smooth, while that of the clam has streaks in relief. Obviously, the flavor is much more pronounced in the clams which are caught.
Spaghetti with clams
- Preparation time: 30 minutes+ purging time
- Ingredients for 4 servings
- Difficulty: Average difficulty recipe
- Ingredients
- 320 gr or 12 oz of spaghetti
- 900 gr or 2 lb of clams (lupins)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Salt to taste
- 1 chili pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil to taste
- Parsley leaves to taste
- Instructions
- Prepare the clams. Throw away any broken clams. Allow the remaining clams to drain for at least three hours in very cold “sea water.” Sea water is made with 2 tablespoons of salt for every liter of or US quart of cold water and is mixed well until it is fully dissolved.
- Once the purging time is over, lightly tap every single clam on a surface or a chopping board to select the good ones from those that are only full of sand.
- In a pan with a ladle of boiling water cook the clams on a high heat, covering them with a lid. The clams are ready when they have the valves open – it takes just a couple of minutes of cooking for this to happen.
- Remove from heat and place in a bowl covered with cellophane. Place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water to cool the shellfish.
- Boil the water in a saucepan and toss the pasta.
- In a pan stew the oil, garlic, and chili pepper, then add the filtered liquid from the shellfish.
- Drain the spaghetti “al dente” and pour into a pan. Add, if necessary, ladles of unsalted boiling water. Add the shelled clams and some left in the shell. Salt if necessary, always and only at the end of the process and just before serving.
- Serve with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Tips to ensure the success of the dish:
- The preparation of clams is important to prevent them from being full of sand. These are boring processes but they must be done.
- Covering the clams with cellophane will prevent them from losing moisture. There is nothing sadder than a shrunken clam. This procedure is useful because it allows you to cook clams well in advance.
- The final creaming of the pasta in the pan is in this case fundamental to ensure that the oil and water are emulsified thanks to the starch contained in the pasta.
- To cook pasta ideally, consider 1 liter or 1 US quart of water for every serving.
