Spaghetti alle Vongole

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Cooked pasta

1. 1
   Put the clams in a bowl of cold salted water 1 hour, rinse and drain.

   BowlColander
2. 2
   Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water (4¼ cups of water and a heaping teaspoon of salt for every 4 oz of pasta), following the package directions (taste about 2 minutes early), until al dente.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePot

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
3. 3
   Reserve cup of the cooking water before draining.

   ⚙ Saving the cooking waterLadleorMeasuring cup

   💡The cooking water is starchy: a spoonful or two binds the sauce to the pasta or the gnocchi and makes it glossy.
4. 4
   Drain.

   Colander

To assemble

1. 5
   Heat the olive oil in a large pot and fry the garlic and chili about 1 minute, until the garlic is lightly golden.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
2. 6
   Add the wine and cook 2 minutes.

   Stove
3. 7
   Add the clams, cover and cook 5–7 minutes, until it opens. Discard the clams that didn't open.

   StoveLid

   💡Discard clams that are open before cooking and don't close when tapped, and clams that stay closed after cooking.
4. 8
   Add the drained pasta and the lemon juice and parsley with a little pasta water as needed, season with salt and toss well.
5. 9
   Serve immediately.