Italian · Main · Medium
Linguine alle Vongole
Linguine tossed with sweet littleneck clams in a garlicky white wine sauce. The taste of the Amalfi Coast.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Linguine alle Vongole, in 5 ideas
- Purging the clams in salted water keeps gritty sand out of your sauce.
- No cheese on this dish, ever; Italians consider it a crime against seafood.
- The clam liquor released during steaming is liquid gold; do not waste a drop.
- Manila clams work beautifully if littlenecks are unavailable.
- Serve with the remaining white wine you cooked with.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 lb linguine
- 3 lbs littleneck clams, scrubbed
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- Salt for the pasta water
How to make it
Directions
- Soak the clams in cold salted water 20 minutes to purge sand, then rinse.
- Cook the linguine until just shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet with a lid. Cook garlic and red pepper flakes 1 minute.
- Add the clams and wine, cover, and steam 5 to 7 minutes until the clams open. Discard any that stay closed.
- Toss the pasta into the skillet with splashes of pasta water until glossed. Finish with parsley and serve.
Money saver. Tap any open clam before cooking; if it does not close, it is dead and goes in the trash, not the pot.