Fregola Sarda alla vongele (fregola with clams)

For ➋

200 g fregola Sarda

500 g vongele clams

3 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped

1 sweet onion, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

15 cl white wine

100 g Parmigiano

2 tbs mascarpone

zest of 1 lemon

handful of parsley, finely chopped

salt & pepper

olive oil

Fry the onion and garlic in a dash of olive oil over medium heat until they start to colour. Add the celery and let it stew a little. Rinse the clams well under cold water and let them drain. Add them to the pan and deglaze with the white wine. Let them cook for 3-4 m with the lid on until the clams open. Remove them with a slotted spoon, so that the cooking liquid remains in the pan. 

In the meantime, cook the fregola as indicated on the packaging (probably 10 m). 

Let the clam juice in the pan simmer for another 2-3 m for extra flavour. 

Add the cooked fregola to the pan with the reduced clam juice. Stir in the mascarpone, salt and pepper, chopped parsley and grated Parmigiano. Add the clams (either shelled or with shells). Finish with some extra pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and some more parsley.

♥︎Fregola Sarda with clams & fennel

For ➍ 

350 g fregola Sarda

1.5 kg clams/ vongele

1 l fish or vegetable stock

2 cloves of garlic

2 large fennels, cut in small cubes, stems reserved

1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely

1 organic lemon, juice & zest

1 glass of white wine

sea ​​salt & pepper

extra virgin olive oil

If you still have to clean the shells yourself, soak them in a large container of cold water beforehand. Then rinse them under the tap. The mussels will then open for a moment and you can rinse away the sand.

Boil a pan of water with the fish or vegetable stock.

Take a deep pan and now add a dash of olive oil. Cut 1 clove of garlic into slices and fry it together with the fennels for 5 m on medium heat until the fennel is translucent and just turns a brown color. Add the fregola and stir well.

Add enough stock (approximately the same volume as the pasta) to the risotto, reduce heat and cover with a lid for +/- 10 m. Fill if necessary. add extra stock.

5-6 m before the end of the risotto cooking time, cook the clams. Place a large frying pan or wok over low heat with a dash of olive oil. 

Crush 1 clove of garlic and fry with the skin on briefly in the oil. Remove after the oil has been seasoned. 

Add the shells, increase the heat and add a dash of white wine. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the shells for a few m. Shake the pan regularly to ensure they all open. 

After 10-12 minutes, when the fregola is just al dente and the mixture looks soupy, stir in the clams and the cooking liquid with a little chopped parsley and the lemon zest.

Squeeze half a lemon and add it, season the pasta with salt and pepper.

Serve the dish in bowls with some of the fennel fronds kept aside and a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Almejas Al Jerez (Spanish clams in sherry)

For ➍
1 kg small clams or mussels, cleaned* & rinsed
½ medium yellow or white onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 tbs olive oil
12-17 cl dry sherry
4-6 tbs fresh flat leaf parsley
1 medium lemon (optional)

Peel and chop the onion and finely chop the parsley. Peel and slice the garlic. Pour olive oil into a large (20-25 cm) frying pan and heat on medium. When oil is hot, sauté the onion and garlic until it just turns brown. Add the sherry and half of the chopped parsley, cooking for 2-3 m.
Add the clams to the frying pan, and stir. Cover and simmer on low for about 4 m. Clams should open as cooking. Discard any clams that do not open.
Divide the clams and sauce between 4 plates. Sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley. Squeeze lemon juice over top of each plate (optional).
Serve hot as a tapa with warm crusty bread to soak up the sherry sauce and chopped onions.

*Put in a plastic bag with salted water to remove sand.

Read the related mussels with sherry recipe.

Spaghetti alle vongole in bianco (spaghetti with clams)

For ➍
450 g spaghetti (or linguine)
1 kg fresh vongole (carpet shells)*
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbs olive oil
½ dried red pepper, crushed (or ½ ts cayenne)
salt & pepper
bunch of parsley
2 peeled & seeded (canned) plum tomatoes**
(white wine or white vermouth)

Scrub the fresh clams well. Let them sit in salted water for several hours, so they can purge themselves of sand. Boil them in just a little bit of water***, or steam them. When they open, drain them and stir them, with shells, into the sauce.

Start cooking the spaghetti in a separate pot.

Make the sauce by gently sautéing the chopped garlic and the chilli pepper in the oil in a large pot, adding the parsley when the mixture starts to brown. Don't let it burn. (Add the tomatoes)**.

Add 2 tbs of the clams' cooking (or canned) juice to the mixture. Add clams to the mixture and cook for 1 m.

Drain the spaghetti, and stir it into the sauce.

Serve with a glass of slightly chilled white wine.

*Use defrosted frozen clams instead, or 200 g bottled or canned clam meat. You can also use mussels.
**Optional: add tomatoes to have a richer sauce (but it will hide the clams' taste) (and it will be no longer a white sauce).
***Use a small glass of white wine or white vermouth instead.
****Use half the quantities for a starter.

A quicker recipe for spaghetti con vongele, with cooked vongele. Try the similar Spanish version.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Pasta con almejas y pimientos rojos (pasta with clams & peppers)

For ➍
300 g dried spaghetti or linguine
2 cloves garlic
1 medium white or yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
8 cl virgin olive oil
6-8 cl dry white wine
500 g littleneck clams

Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente.

Rinse the clams until cold running water and remove any debris on outside.

Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Remove stem and seeds from bell pepper and chop into small squares, 0.5 cm across. Pour a few tbs olive oil into large frying pan and sauté onion, garlic and pepper until onion is translucent. Add white wine and clams, and simmer on low, stirring often.

Add cooked and drained spaghetti to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat the pasta.

Serve immediately.

Try the similar Italian spaghetti con vongele or the quick variant.

Spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with small clams)

For ➋
100 g spaghetti
400 g cooked vongole meat (small clams)
4 tbs olive oil
1 chopped garlic clove
5 stalks of dried chilies
2 ts coarse black pepper
fresh coriander leaves
1 small glass of white wine*

Bring water to the boil. Drop in the spaghetti. Cook al dente.

In a small pan heat the olive oil. Stir in the garlic, chilies and pepper. Do not brown the garlic. Mix in the vongole with some of the cooking juice.

Add a small glass of white wine*.

Mix the spaghetti and vongole.  Shred the coriander leaves for decoration.

*Use half a glass of white vermouth instead.
**Use half quantities for a starter.

Another recipe for spaghetti alle vongole in bianco. Try the similar Spanish version.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.