I have shared my preference for light pasta sauces before, and had the chance this weekend to make my favorite pasta dish: spaghetti al vongole. I have ordered this dish time and time again at Italian restaurants, and have yet to get tired of the light white wine sauce and the fresh herbs and clams that coat the strands of spaghetti. When I got my hand on a batch of fresh clams, I knew pasta al vongole would be mine again. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about their fear of cooking clams (and other types of seafood for that matter) but I can assure you that clams are incredibly easy to make. My all-time favorite way to prepare them is to steam them open with white wine, shallots and herbs. This takes a couple minutes to put together, and gives immense flavor to whatever you are serving the clams with. In this case, I dunk the cooked spaghetti right into the clam pot, let it soak up all the juices, and voila!
Recipe (for 2)
Spaghetti for 2
4 shallots, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
15 clams
2 glasses of dry white wine
A handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions. In the meantime, add a good drizzle of olive oil to a stockpot on medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic and dried oregano. Cook until the mixture is translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the clams and the white wine and cover. After about a minute vigorously shake the pot to help the steaming process and make sure that all the clams open nicely. After about 4minutes, all the clams should have opened. Discard any closed clams. Add the drained cooked pasta to the pot and gently fold in the spaghetti. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped parsley and serve. Enjoy!
Enjoy the read!
pigpigscorner
February 2, 2009 at 4:48 am (16 years ago)Looks really delicious! I love seafood pasta with white wine sauce…delicious.
HoneyB
February 2, 2009 at 6:04 am (16 years ago)I think Grumpy would really like this meal…I am going to have to bookmark this one. I have only cooked clams once in my life – and for the same reason you state here, I’ve always been afraid to! I think I better give it another try!
Darius T. Williams
February 2, 2009 at 8:36 am (16 years ago)This looks fantastic…and now I’m craving shrimp scampi.
That’s totally on the menu for this week – thanks!
Dawn
February 2, 2009 at 11:38 am (16 years ago)I think white wine goes so well with seafood. I truly love this dish, and would love a small bowl right now.
maggie
February 2, 2009 at 2:20 pm (16 years ago)Yum, this is one of my absolute favorite dishes.
CookiePie
February 2, 2009 at 2:52 pm (16 years ago)That’s one of my all-time most favorite pasta dishes. Yours looks especially delicious!
pepsakoy
February 2, 2009 at 3:08 pm (16 years ago)Looks fantastic ! And your photos are excellent…
Cherie
February 2, 2009 at 8:27 pm (16 years ago)I can’t believe I have never made this dish. I wanted to, several times, but something always gets in the way.
I am heading to the market for some fresh seafood and I’m making it this weekend!
MaryBeth
February 3, 2009 at 12:18 am (16 years ago)It looks very good, however I am not a fan of clams..how do you think it would be with shrimp?
Peter M
February 3, 2009 at 8:56 am (16 years ago)Simple, pretty and delish…a fave “go to” dish.
Debbie
February 3, 2009 at 10:35 am (16 years ago)Sounds out of this world good!!! I love pasta and have to try this sometime.
Jen
February 3, 2009 at 10:37 am (16 years ago)I love this pasta dish! It’s the start of the day and your picture has me craving dinner already 🙂
Netts Nook
February 3, 2009 at 11:29 am (16 years ago)I love clams this looks great thanks for sharing.
Chocolate Shavings
February 3, 2009 at 12:08 pm (16 years ago)MaryBeth: You could definitely make this with shrimp. You can cook the shrimp in the same way as the clams (by poaching them in the white wine) and adding in the pasta as soon as they are opaque and pink in color. Let me know if you get to try it out!
matt wirght
February 3, 2009 at 2:05 pm (16 years ago)my absolute favorite use for clams. Talk about perfect presentation as well. Beautiful work!
Maria
February 3, 2009 at 3:22 pm (16 years ago)Seafood and pasta…what an amazing meal!
noobcook
February 3, 2009 at 8:56 pm (16 years ago)This is my fave pasta too, and you made it so beautifully. Thanks for visiting me, I’m so happy to find your lovely food blog that has such awesome food photogtaphy 🙂
lisa (dandysugar)
February 4, 2009 at 1:21 am (16 years ago)This looks so delicious. I love simple pasta dishes and this is definitely one of my favorites. I’ve had dinner already but I’m craving this dish now!
we are never full
February 4, 2009 at 8:43 am (16 years ago)oh i absolutely love this dish too. it makes me feel thin for some odd reason. ha ha ha. try putting a bit of clam juice in when making the sauce like my grandmom did – it really spikes up the “claminess”
Nazarina A
February 4, 2009 at 1:17 pm (16 years ago)Yummeee! What a delightful idea for dinner!!!
Anonymous
February 5, 2009 at 2:39 pm (16 years ago)I never herd about origano in this recipe, but if you like…..
Is better to soak in runing water the vongole for long time, nearly all one night,to remove all the sand
Chocolate Shavings
February 5, 2009 at 5:47 pm (16 years ago)Anonymous: Feel free to change around the herbs to better suit your taste!
And you’re right, the clams should definitely be cleaned and all the sand should be removed before they are used.
Ash
February 7, 2009 at 9:18 pm (16 years ago)Looks too good!!!
Love the pic!
Sophie
February 26, 2009 at 7:22 am (16 years ago)Looks really yummie:)!! I just love sea food!!
Rasa Malaysia
March 7, 2009 at 8:17 pm (16 years ago)OMG, I looooooove Spaghetti Vongole. Recently at a work lunch, we went to this little Italian restaurant and I order it, and it was the best one I’ve had in the US (the best one I had was in Florence, Italy). Since then, my gf and I had been going back to the same restaurant for at least twice a week, during lunch hours. It starts to get really expensive ($20+) and I swear to make it myself. Thanks so much for this. 🙂
Chocolate Shavings
March 8, 2009 at 12:22 am (16 years ago)It’s one of my favorite dishes too – let me know if you get to try it out at home, I’d love to know what you think!
bengtsson
January 30, 2010 at 3:26 pm (15 years ago)I just (almost) followed a Giorgio Locatelli recipe which is slightly different from yours. No oregano or shallots. I used garlic, fresh chili, white wine (muscadet) and a bit of cream to round off at the end. My belly is still smiling, and my five year old daughter was yelling at me for not having made more!
Patrice @ Circle-B-Kitchen
February 25, 2010 at 8:41 pm (15 years ago)I have had an very large craving for spaghetti and clams….THIS spaghetti and clams. So glad I found it. Most recipes are way too butter laden. THanks!