Today, a recipe for a main course: pasta with clams!
A seemingly very simple main course that has its small pitfalls because sometimes it can turn out too dry. With very few ingredients you will bring a superb pasta to the table.
I was born and raised in Abruzzo, just five minutes from the trabocchi coast, which, if you don’t know it, I really recommend you to go visit. There are beautiful places but above all, you eat very well, in restaurants, small trattorias, or on the trabocchi, the fish dishes, including pasta with clams, are the main attraction.
Clams have no seasonality, they are available all year round because farming is also very common. Delicate and with a sea taste, clams are one of the undisputed symbols of Mediterranean cuisine, and there are various types of clams.
Today I used lupino clams and fresh homemade pasta with my Pastamaker (if you are pasta lovers, you absolutely must try it) and it turned out to be a very, very good first course that, along with baked salmon with potatoes and sea zucchini flowers, form a perfect menu to bring to the table with which you can impress your guests. In the end, you can offer them a great slice of angel cake or some milk chocolate brownies to accompany the coffee.
Now let’s see together, step by step, how to make this recipe.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for Pasta with Clams
- 1.5 lbs clams
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch parsley
- 6 oz extra virgin olive oil
- 1/6 cup water (about half a ladle)
- 1 lbs pasta
- 2 tbsps coarse salt
Tools
Below you will find links to some tools used to make the recipe
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Wok
- 1 Lid
Let’s Start!
To start, we need to clean our clams to avoid finding sand inside the dish. Pour the clams into a bowl with enough water to cover them and add two tablespoons of coarse salt; let them purge for at least 3 hours. Some fishmongers sell them already purged.
Take the clams back and rinse them thoroughly. On a cutting board, chop the parsley and peel two garlic cloves.
In a deep pan or a wok, put the oil, garlic, and parsley and lightly fry, then remove the garlic and add the drained clams and half a ladle of water, and close with the lid. Keep some parsley to sprinkle on top at the end.
Cook while occasionally stirring for seven or eight minutes, or until all the clams have opened. Remember to always keep the pan closed with the lid.
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water, when there are 3/4 minutes of cooking left, drain the pasta into the clam pan and finish cooking with a little pasta cooking water.
Mix the pasta well with the clams, being careful not to let it dry too much. Use the pasta cooking water if necessary, and sprinkle the rest of the parsley on top.
Take a photo of your pasta with clams, post it on social media tagging me (una riccia che pasticcia instagram and facebook) and let me know what aroma you smell.
Una Riccia recommends
Use good clams, whether lupino or veraci, this will ensure the success of your dish. If the clams are good, there will be no need to salt them because they will have all their sea flavor.
If you want to vary, you can add a lemon zest at the end or, for a more pronounced taste, a bit of hot chili pepper.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is the difference between lupino clams and veraci clams?
Lupino clams are smaller and rounder than veraci clams; moreover, the former cannot be farmed and thus retain all the taste and true salinity of the sea with a stronger flavor. Veraci, on the other hand, being farmed, even though in brackish waters, have a sweeter and more delicate taste. Usually, veraci cost more than lupino.
Which variety of clams is better?
Naturally, it all depends on personal taste; I prefer lupino because they have the true taste of the sea. Veraci, on the other hand, are larger and meatier.
