Spaghetti with clams and zucchini is a flavorful and much-loved dish. The preparation is easy and relatively quick; the important thing is to soak the clams in coarse salt for a few hours to purge the shellfish.
Updated recipe from 10/20/2016
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 434.10 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 31.82 (g) of which sugars 1.45 (g)
- Proteins 13.63 (g)
- Fat 29.91 (g) of which saturated 4.47 (g)of which unsaturated 1.03 (g)
- Fibers 2.83 (g)
- Sodium 545.10 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 408 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 5.6 oz spaghetti
- 1.76 lbs clams
- 3 zucchini
- 1 Tropea red onion
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 sprigs parsley
- 1 fresh chili pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons coarse salt (to purge the clams)
Tools
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- Food Scale
- Cutting Board
- Bowl
- Strainer
- Pan
- Pot
Steps
Place the clams in a bowl with water and coarse salt and let them soak for 3 hours. In a pan, sauté the finely chopped onion over low heat with half the oil. Add the zucchini cut into pieces and cook over low heat with the lid on for 10 minutes without adding salt.
Rinse the clams well, place them in a pan with the garlic clove (unpeeled), the remaining oil, and the chili pepper, cover with the lid, and allow them to open, discarding those that remain closed (this will only take a minute). Shell them, keeping a few with the shell aside, remove the garlic, parsley, and chili pepper, and filter the liquid twice with a fine-mesh strainer. Add the clams to the zucchini condiment and mix.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, and cook the spaghetti. Halfway through cooking, while still very al dente, drain them and add them to the condiment. Pour the hot filtered clam liquid (130 ml) and one or two more ladles of pasta cooking water. Continue to stir until fully cooked. Check the saltiness, sprinkle with a little chopped parsley, and serve.
Tips
Clams are filter-feeding shellfish that feed on everything present in the water by filtering it. There are various species, but the best ones are the true clams. They can be found all year round, but the best period is from June to December. For cleaning, you need to recreate the saline environment, so they should be completely immersed in a large container filled with cold water with two tablespoons of coarse salt for every liter of water. Discard any broken or already open ones. Let them soak for two or three hours, changing the water without moving it too much. There should be no traces of sand.
