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Spaghetti With Clams Recipe: A Tasty Italian Pasta Dish

Spaghetti with clams is a very simple seafood dish, tasty and quick to prepare.

spaghetti with clams

It is a dish having its origins in the Neapolitan, and it has become heritage of the Italian gastronomy and, as such, it is recognized all over the world as one of the symbolic dishes of good Italian cooking.

The basic ingredients are simply pasta and clam.

What I propose here is the classic recipe of spaghetti with clams in white, where the sauce is represented by the clams, their “cooking juice” and excellent olive oil.

How To Make Spaghetti With White Clams Sauce

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Can I store pasta with clams?

Spaghetti with clams should be served immediately.

However, if you need to, you can keep them for 1 day in the refrigerator, closed in an airtight container.

If I can’t find fresh clams?

This first course can also be easily prepared with frozen clams.

It’s a great trick when you can’t find fresh clams.

How to proceed with the recipe?

It’s simple. Use frozen clams instead of fresh ones, sautéing them directly with a clove of garlic and adding a tablespoon of water.


Pasta With Clams Variants

There are also some variations that can satisfy everyone.

You should know that there are several versions of pasta with clams, that see the protagonists other ingredients to which the clams accompany perfectly.

Here are the variants of pasta with clams to try, in addition to the classic variant in white.

  • Spaghetti with clams and cherry tomatoes

The advice is to stain your pasta and clams with fresh cherry tomatoes: you can cut them into quarters and quickly sauté them with the clams.

This recipe is perfect for those who love the intense flavors of the sea.

A classic base, that of pasta with clams, with the addition of bottarga.

  • Spaghetti with clams and pesto

A very tasty combination.

With fish, we know that parsley is perfect, but I also find basil divine.

So I recommend adding 2 tablespoons of pesto to the preparation of classic pasta with clams.

I’m sure you’ll love this version.

Pasta With Clams: What Pasta To Choose

Spaghetti

spaghetti with clams


The most classic and appreciated matching, as for clams, is the one with spaghetti.

Paccheri

spaghetti with clams


Among short pasta shapes, one of the most ideal ones are paccheri.

They are very good with fish first course meals.

Ideal for those who prefer short pasta to long pasta.

Short pasta which is used, besides with clams, also work well with mussels-based sauces.

How to Freeze Sauce with Clams

You can store the clam sauce in the freezer after cooking as explained in the recipe above.

Put them in a small container with their sauce (filtered), close it tightly and store everything in the freezer for about a month.

They will be ready immediately after defrosting because all you have to do is heat them up when you want to cook them.

Once defrosted, however, you will not be able to put them back in the freezer but it will be better to consume them immediately.


Yield: 4

Spaghetti With Clams - Easy & Fast Italian Recipe

spaghetti with clams

Pasta With Clams Quick & Easy Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 400gr of spaghetti
  • 1 kg of clams
  • 100 ml of white wine
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 3 Garlic cloves
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Chilli pepper optional

Instructions

    1. If you use fresh clams, start the preparation by putting the fresh clams to depurate for at least two hour in salted water (for each liter of water you will pour a tablespoon of coarse salt), in the fridge. This will help to remove any sandy residue.
    2. After this time has past, wash the clams under cold running water and beat them one at a time on a flat surface. In this way, the empty or dead ones will open and you will be able to throw them away. Also discard any clams with broken or open shells.
    3. Take a large pan with high sides and put in the well drained clams with 2 cloves of garlic.
    4. Cover with a lid and leave on high heat until all the clams have opened. It will take between 5 and 10 minutes for them all to open.
    5. At that point, turn up the heat an fade with the white wine. Keep going until the alcohol has evaporated.
    6. Turn off the heat and remove the clams from the pan. Set them aside and shell half of the clams. Strain the clam cooking water through a colander and collect it in a glass.
    7. At this point boil some salted water for the pasta.
    8. In another pan, brown over low heat the garlic cut into rounds with a little chili pepper if you like to add the clams, the water filtered previously and flavor for a few minutes.
    9. Finely chop some parsley. Drain the pasta, which you had previously put to cook, very al dente and season it directly into the pan with the clams, keeping the heat low and letting it flavor well until the spaghetti with clams have become well creamy. If necessary, add more oil and a little cooking water to the pasta.
    10. Serve the pasta with clams very hot with a twist of pepper and parsley.


    Enjoy!

Notes

Never salt clam sauce because these shellfish are already naturally salty.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 717Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 193mgSodium: 3651mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 78g

Nutrition is automatically calculated by Nutritionix - please verify all nutrition information independently and consult with a doctor or nutritionist for any and all medical and diet advice.

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