Spaghetti Vongole.

Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine.

Spaghetti Vongole is my favorite pasta dish, whenever it is on a menu I have to order it! A few weeks ago I realized that it has now been two years since I began cooking and I had never attempted to make this restaurant favorite of mine at home. This week I found a great recipe in Bon Appetit magazine (my favorite online and printed source for recipes) and was so excited to successfully re-create the dish at home AND (as an added bonus) was pleasantly surprised at how easy and fast it was! For shellfish lovers this is a must try, Enjoy!

Ingredients

Spaghetti or Linquine (I prefer Linguine)

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup white wine

2 lb. cockles, Manila clams, or littlenecks, cleaned or "scrubbed" 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Step one: Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Season lightly with salt; add pasta and cook, remove approx. 3 minutes before pasta is tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.

Step two: Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, swirling pan often, until just golden, about one minute. Add red pepper flakes and cook for approximately 30 seconds. Add wine, then clams; increase heat to high. Cover skillet and cook until clams open and release their juices, 3-6 minutes, depending on size of clams. As clams open, use tongs to transfer them to a bowl.

Step three: Add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to skillet; bring to a boil. Add pasta to pan. Cook over high heat, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and has soaked up some of the sauce from the pan. Add clams and any juices from bowl to pan, along with parsley, and toss to combine. (Add more pasta water if sauce seems dry.) Transfer pasta to warm bowls and drizzle with remaining oil.