It takes very little to transform an ordinary pasta dish into a feast for the eyes. To prepare the Creamy Spaghetti with Clams recipe, you don’t need to add cream, just cook the pasta directly in the sauce. The released starch will create the right density to make the spaghetti creamy. Very important is the cleaning of the clams, just one with sand could ruin the dish. Remember that clams also have their seasonality; we find them all year round, but their best time is in the cold season. Also excellent is the recipe for Spaghetti with Clams and Zucchini, with artichokes, and with mussels and clams.
Recipe from 02/08/2017 updated
To read more recipes, click on the links below
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 355.14 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 26.35 (g) of which sugars 0.47 (g)
- Proteins 9.04 (g)
- Fat 24.61 (g) of which saturated 3.65 (g)of which unsaturated 0.70 (g)
- Fibers 1.46 (g)
- Sodium 451.60 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 303 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
- 1.1 lbs clams
- 2 cloves garlic
- 20 leaves basil
- 4 sprigs parsley
- 1 fresh chili
- 3.4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp coarse salt (for purging the clams)
Tools
- Kitchen Scale
- Frying Pan
- Sieve
- Pot
Steps
Before soaking them, drop them into the sink; if there’s a clam with sand, it will open. Purge the clams in a bowl with cold water and 4 tablespoons of coarse salt. Leave them to soak for one hour, then rinse several times. Pour 2 tbsp. of oil in a pan, 1 clove of garlic in its skin, and the parsley with stems. Once hot, add the well-rinsed clams and check for any broken shell pieces. Cover and let the clams open, keeping the heat high. Deglaze with white wine, and once they are all open (discard the closed ones), turn off the heat. Remove garlic and parsley, filter the liquid with a fine mesh sieve. Discard the shells, keeping a few for decoration. In a pan, pour the remaining oil, shelled clams, a garlic clove in its skin, and fresh chili but wait before turning on the heat. Put water on the stove for the pasta.
When it boils, throw in the spaghetti and add a small amount of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, just enough to soften the pasta. Drain, keeping some ladles of water, and continue cooking in the pan with the clams. Immediately pour in the clam liquid and stir as if cooking risotto. As it dries, add a ladle of water until the pasta reaches the right doneness. Taste to check the saltiness. Remove garlic and serve with torn basil leaves.
