Spaghetti Alle Vongole

So whilst I was in Italy, I probably had spaghetti alle vongole at least five times. And take note that I was only there for nine days. I had it during my first meal and I became obsessed.

I knew I was going to have to recreate the dish when I got home except a few days after returning from holiday, I was sent to Massachusetts for work. So, I had to put my kitchen experimenting on hold for a few weeks. But, as soon as I got back, I went to my favorite seafood market and bought a bunch of clams so I could relive my favorite Italian dish.

Ingredients [serves 4]:

1 lb. spaghetti

3 dozen clams

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 teaspoons crushed pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup white wine

Start by getting a huge pot of water on to boil. In the meantime, chop up the garlic, zest some lemon, and mince some oregano.

Grab a heavy, wide, and shallow pan and get it over medium heat. Drizzle in some olive oil and toss in the garlic and crushed pepper flakes. When the garlic is golden, add in the lemon zest, oregano, and lemon juice.

Dump in the clams and drizzle in some wine and pop on the lid. Let the clams steam for 8 to 12 minutes, or until all of the clams have opened up.

While the clams are steaming, toss the pasta into the boiling and salted water and cook until it's just shy of being al dente.

When the clams are done, grab them and chuck them into a bowl, leaving the juices behind. If you used really adorable tiny clams, you can leave them in, but as you can see, my pot was overwhelmingly full.

Drain the pasta and then toss it into the clam cooking liquid, letting it cook for a just a minute until the noodles are exactly al dente.

Pile the pasta into a bowl and top with a few clams and serve immediately.

The pasta is deliciously bright and briny and oceany and herby and really good. It wasn't quite as good as the pasta I had in Italy, but it was still yummy and satisfying.

Here's the recipe page: