If you feel like cooking a tasty but simple recipe with seafood, it does not get much better than Spaghetti alle vongole. Spaghetti alle vongole (with clams) is one of the most traditional and loved dishes of Italian cuisine. It is traditionally served for dinner on Christmas Eve or New Years’ Eve but the perfect dish for any occasion. Originating in the Campania region, learn how to make this simple recipe which combines a taste of fresh clams from the sea with flavours of olive oil, garlic, chilli, parsley and white wine.

From a nutritional standpoint, clams are an excellent source of protein, iron and calcium. Additionally, I hear that clams are also great for males’ fertility, collagen synthesis, they contain lots of vitamin b12 and help to regulate blood pressure. There are many varieties of clams to use for Pasta alle vongole. My favourite would have to be Vongole veraci, a variety of clams with a hard shell. These are the most common and appreciated in Italy for their sweetness and tenderness. Whichever variety of clams you choose to cook with, the below recipe is the one to follow.

Spaghetti vongole recipe

Time: 20 minutes (plus time to clean clams – or ask your local fishmonger to clean the clams for you)

Ingredients for 4 people

1kg clams

400g Spaghetti pasta

4 tablespoons (80ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 small red chilli, finely sliced

125ml white wine

Handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Sea salt

Step 1: Use a firm brush to scrub the clams under cold running water to remove sand. If the clams are fairly clean, place in a colander under a running water tap to clean. Discard any shells that are chipped, broken, or damaged in any way.

Step 2: Use a large pot with an abundant amount of water so that the pasta is fully submerged and has space to cook in. Place on high heat and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti pasta and salt to the boiling water. There is a 10:100:1000 rule which says to use 10 grams of salt per 100 grams of pasta in 1000ml (1 litre) of water.

Step 3: Cook until ‘al dente’ (firm to the bite), referring to the cooking time specified in pasta packet instructions.

Step 4: Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the garlic and chilli. Cook without browning the garlic for 1 minute. Add the clams and pour over the wine. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the clams have opened and wine evaporated. Discard any unopened clams.

Step 5: Drain the pasta.

Step 6: Add the pasta to the frying pan with clams and toss well over the heat for 1 minute to soak up lovely flavour. Season with salt to taste, then remove from the heat. Add the parsley and toss to combine.

Step 7: Divide the Spaghetti alle vongole among 4 serving bowls. Buon appetito!

Full recipe for Spaghetti alle Vongole also here.

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Vanessa Bottaro

Author, Founder and Creative Director at Italian Spoon

In my eyes, Italian cuisine is love on a plate.

Vanessa is Creative Director of the Italian Spoon website and Author of The Italian entertaining cookbook, a collection of home-style Italian recipes and tips for entertaining in true Italian-style. In addition to cooking and taking photographs, Vanessa writes the recipes and blogs to bring the love of Italian cooking to life! The collection of recipes and blogs on the website have been inspired by travels to Italy and desire to share what she has learnt from the great ‘Mamma’s and ‘Nonna’s in her life!

Vanessa is an entrepreneur and wife to husband Simone and the mother of two beautiful kids Dante and Mia. Even so she was born and lives in Melbourne Australia, Vanessa has a deep connection to Italy. Perhaps it is the food, or maybe it is because it is the place where Vanessa met the love of her life, Simone to whom she has been happily married for so many years.

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