TABELIAAUTHENTIC ITALIAN RECIPE
Authentic Spaghetti alle Vongole
A simple Neapolitan pasta built on the clams’ own briny broth and olive oil. The true Vongole Bianco never includes tomato.
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Ingredients (2 servings)
- Clams (vongole)500 g
- Spaghetti200 g
- Garlic3 cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil60 ml
- Dry white wine100 ml
- Flat-leaf parsley1 bunch
- Chili pepper1
Method
Purge the clams
Cover 500g clams with foil and purge in a dark place for 2 hours. Spread them in a single layer in a tray and cover with 3% brine (30g salt per litre of water) until submerged.
Boil the water and prep the aromatics
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salted with 10g salt per litre. Drain the purged clams into a colander, scrub the shells together under running water and drain. Discard any broken clams or ones that stay open when tapped. Finely chop the parsley and crush the garlic with the flat of a knife.
Cook the aromatics
Heat 60ml olive oil with the crushed garlic and chilli over low heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes, until the garlic is just lightly coloured.
Open the clams
Add the clams to the pan, raise the heat to medium, pour in 100ml white wine and cover. Remove the clams once all have opened, 3–5 minutes, and set the liquid aside.
Cook the spaghetti
Add the spaghetti to the boiling salted water and cook 2 minutes short of the package time. Reserve 100ml pasta water.
Emulsify with the pasta
Transfer the pasta to the pan with the reserved clam liquid and pasta water. Toss vigorously over high heat for 1–2 minutes until the sauce clings glossily to the pasta.
Finish with parsley
Return the clams to the pan, scatter with the chopped parsley and serve.
About this dish
Fishermen in the Gulf of Naples land clams at dawn, and by that same morning they’re already in pasta — Spaghetti alle Vongole gets the Mediterranean’s bounty to the table by the shortest possible route.
Along the Campania coast, the “vongole veraci,” made quickly with clams gathered from the local sandy shores, is still the standard approach. White wine, garlic, parsley and olive oil — with just those few elements combined, the clams’ own flavour is drawn out into the sauce.
There are two versions, bianco (white) and rosso (red, with tomato), but in Naples bianco is by far the mainstream. Plenty of cooks argue that adding tomato buries the clam’s delicate flavour.
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