In Italy, Spaghetti alle Vongole... I am not shy to the salty, tangy, herby pot of flavor...However, I am just back from Italy... a trip to remember, I would want to call it a " vacation" but to be completely honest, anywhere that is a 6+ hour plane ride, and speaks a different language than you, is a TRIP because traveling is a lot of work. So while it was at times relaxing, we were also moving and grooving and schlepping. It was great. I am not complaining, I am REFLECTING. We ate a lot, we drank... a lot, and we molded into something a little bit fresher than what we were before, that's the cool part. We also met a wonderful friend, Claudio, by surprise, and those are the best and most bittersweet moments of traveling... perspective.
We found ourselves on a beautiful little island off the coast of Rome, Ponza.. A Roman holiday destination. When its not filled with million dollar yachts or tourists, its a small and quiet community of probably mostly fisherman and small business owners. Hardly anyone was American.. All Italian tourists or European. Ponza is an island, so fish is what we ate. Once in our Ponza groove, I went down to the fish market for a meal at home, which we did often and that was quite nice, cooking keeps you present and for the most part, I find myself to be more satisfied and content with meals that I make..A control freak? Maybe. Also, to have such great ingredients that are a fraction of the price that they are HERE is quite incredible. So here it is, Spaghetti alle Vongole, cooked in my grotto, in Ponza Italy, probably a little drunk and definitely sunkist. You can use any pasta of your choosing, In this photo I used Paccheri, but linguine would be great or any hearty pasta that can absorb all that good juice. Fresh clams are a must, cherry stones, or any small clam, little necks are good too. You could also use a can of canned clams as well, but you will not get the same effect with just using that. So do both or just do fresh.
Ingredients
1 lb pasta, linguine, paccheri .. whatever
1 cup dry white wine, pinot Grigio
2-4 pounds of small clams ( little necks, cherry stones)- Do the math for how many people you are cooking for..
1 head garlic
10ish cherry tomatoes
kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil ( plus more for drizzling)
1 cup parsley
1-2 filet of anchovies
Directions
When ready to begin cooking, wash the clams in cold water, as you are washing pick out any clams that are completely open ( that means they are dead) if they are slightly cracked, that's OK.. discard any clams that are fully open. There should not be a lot if you have sourced from a reliable fish market and know your clams are fresh. Leave the clams in a bowl of cold water while you continue through the next steps.
Get a pot of water on the stove and set to boil
In a medium sized sauce pan, heat half of the olive oil on medium-low heat
While your oil is getting hot, wash your tomatoes and cut your garlic into thinly sliced slivers- set aside.
When oil is hot, add the cherry tomatoes, we are going for a blister, so keep your heat on a medium and allow the cherry tomatoes to blister on the outside and eventually they will become soft and kind of jammy ( about 10 minutes), season with salt. Add in your anchovies whole allowing to frizzle in the oil a bit.
Once tomatoes are blistered, add in your garlic and set heat to a low and cover- we don't want the garlic to burn- stirring occasionally.
Salt your boiling water, add your pasta. Boil pasta until just before al dente. ( 10-ish minutes for paccheri but depends on your pasta) About half way through pasta cooking, reserve a mug full of pasta water for later.
- While on Claudios boat in Ponza, He was making us dinner and I was sitting on the steps going to the cabin of the boat watching him cook, sipping on wine and To my surprise, I learned that you are not supposed to salt the water until IT COMES TO A BOIL! Thank You dear Claudio. So anyways, Do not salt until boiling. xx
8. In your pan with garlic, tomatoes ( which should now look fairly cooked down), and anchovy, add in your cup of wine and your clams, increase heat just a tad and allow that wine to come to a rolling simmer, cover and let the clams begin to open in the heat. Shaking pan occasionally.
9. Reserve a cup of your pasta water before draining, drain pasta. Set aside.
10. Once clams are open ( the ones the have not opened are dead btw- discard) add in your parsley, pasta and 1/2 cup of your pasta water ( you can always add more if you think you need more juice but, you're looking to just glorify and slightly thicker the sauce with the pasta water). Let the pasta cook for another 3-5ish minutes in the sauce, stirring and incorporating everything nicely. garnish with a little extra parsley, the rest of your olive oil and salt/pepper ( if needed) . Serve with a bowl for shells as you eat.
Notes
Any clams that have not opened after cooking should not be eaten
If cooking for 4 people, get at least 2-3 lbs of clams, 1lb for 2 people and any more people get about 4 lbs.
Season with salt as you cook, to your liking.
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