- 4
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 large shallots, finely chopped
- 1/2 bulb of fennel (some fronds reserved) chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes (or more to taste)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 14.5 ounce (411 g) can of stewed tomatoes, crushed with their juice
- 1 cup fregola
- 3 pounds (1.3 kg) steamer clam, well scrubbed
- Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Chopped flat leaf parsley and fennel fronds for garnish
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and fennel and sauté for two to three minutes until the onions start to become translucent. Add the garlic, the chilli flakes and a bit of salt and continue to cook until the garlic becomes fragrant but does not take on any colour.
Add the fregola and stir well to coat. Add the wine, the tomatoes and their juice and three cups of the chicken stock into the pot. Check and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a gentle simmer and cover allowing to cook for 20 minutes or so until the fregola is tender. You need to ensure that you maintain a soupy consistency so check every so often and add a bit more of the remaining stock if needed.
When the fregola is tender and just before you are ready to serve. Increase the heat to high, add any remaining stock and then the clams. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the clams have opened. Discard any clams that do not open after 5 minutes.
Garnish with a good sprinkling of flat leaf parsley and the remaining fennel fronds. Serve at once.
Serves 4.