Spaghetti alle Vongole, Spaghetti with Clams

By cprzybyl

Ingredients

• Note: I recommend cooking the pasta a little ahead of the clams, so you can set aside a little pasta water when draining the pasta, and add it to the pasta sauce if necessary to thin it out.
• Spaghetti
• 1 lb. Fresh Clams
• 1/2 Lemon
• Garlic cloves, to taste (3-4)
• Hot Pepper
• Flat leaf parsley, chopped
• (1/4 cup) Extra virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• 1/2 cup – 1 cup Broth

Details

Adapted from msadventuresinitaly.com

Preparation

Step 1

To help purge some of the sand from fresh clams, put them in cold salted water for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If any clams float, throw them away. Drain the clams.
Chunk or halve the garlic cloves and cook them in the olive oil with some hot pepper flakes if you want it spicy over medium heat. Don’t brown the garlic, but cook until starting to get soft, several minutes. Add 1 cup broth, or 1/2 wine / 1/2 broth to the mixture.
When it starts to simmer/boil, add the (drained) clams to the mixture with a few squeezes of lemon. Cover, and cook for several minutes, stirring every so often. When most of the clam shells have opened, remove any that are still closed and throw them away (don’t eat them!)
If you have too much liquid left with the opened clams, remove them to a bowl and cook down the liquid. Add the cooked pasta and to the mixture, mix well and cook for a few minutes. Take off heat, toss with some parsley and fresh lemon juice and serve.