Spaghetti with Clams

La storia di questo piatto

Spaghetti alle vongole is Naples distilled to its essence: the bay, the fishing boats at dawn, the ancient conviction that a few humble things, treated with love, need nothing more. It is the Campanian sea on a plate, simple the way only the truest dishes dare to be.

Ingredienti

• 400 g Spaghetti
• 1 kg Fresh live clams
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 80 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 20 g Fresh parsley
• 1 piece Red chili pepper
• 150 ml Dry white wine
• 10 g Sea salt
• 2 g Black pepper

Preparazione

1. Place the clams in a bowl under a thin stream of cold running water and rinse them one by one with your hands, discarding without mercy any that are broken or that stay open even after a firm tap: if they don't close, they are dead and must go. Then let them rest for half an hour in cold water in which you have dissolved the 10 g of sea salt from the list (about 1 liter of water, as if it were seawater): this way they purge and expel all the sand they carry inside, so you won't find it crunching between your teeth.
2. Set a large pot of water on the stove and, when it boils, salt it generously with coarse salt, separately measured (it is a different salt from the one used for purging the clams): the water should taste of the sea. Drop in the spaghetti, stirring the first few moments so they don't stick together. Drain them one minute before the package says, since they will finish cooking in the pan, and before discarding the water remember to save a cup of it: that white, starchy water is pure gold for binding the sauce later.
3. In a wide pan pour the oil and turn on low heat, then add the thinly sliced garlic and the crumbled chili pepper (to taste: a whole one gives a bold heat, half a more delicate note): warm them gently, without hurry, so the oil becomes flavored without the garlic burning and turning bitter. As soon as the garlic takes on a light golden color and its fragrance rises, pour in the dry white wine and let the heat reduce it, stirring until you no longer smell the sharp alcohol but only the mellow scent of cooked wine.
4. Add the drained clams to the pan together with their precious liquid, which is all sea flavor and should never be thrown away, and cover immediately with a lid. Cook over high heat, shaking the pan from time to time instead of stirring with a spoon, which could break the shells: they are ready when they have all opened, after 5–7 minutes, and any that remain closed should be removed and discarded without regret, as it means they were not good.
5. Add the spaghetti directly to the pan with the clams, add a little of the reserved cooking water and lower the flame: this is the moment when the pasta absorbs the flavors and the sauce binds, becoming creamy without any need for cream. Add the fresh chopped parsley and gently toss the pasta in the pan, or mix carefully, for a couple of minutes until the spaghetti look glossy and well coated in the light sauce.
6. Plate with care, distributing the clams well in every dish, so no one at the table is disappointed to find only a few in their own. Finish with another handful of fresh parsley and a grinding of black pepper, and serve immediately: this dish does not wait, it should be eaten hot, while the spaghetti still smell of the sea.