Mary's Pasta with Clams

Which wine is best to make Pasta with Clams

Any crisp, dry white wine will work in this recipe and it doesn't need to be Italian. I sometimes use a splash of vermouth if no white wine available.

Why cook with wine?

In this dish, a little white wine adds the necessary acidity to balance the richness of the dish, while also releasing flavour molecules that give it that hint of umami when mixed with olive oil or butter.

What to drink with Pasta with Clams

Preferably the same wine you used to cook it - or any beautifully chilled, crisp dry white wine. Pinot Grigio, Albarino, Gavi, a Sauvignon Blanc or even a non oaked Chardonnay such as Chablis will work.

Mary's recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

·       1kg fresh or frozen palourdes clams 

·       350g of linguine or spaghetti

·       3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

·       3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

·       A small red chilli, thinly sliced

·       80ml of white wine

·       1 handful of fresh flat leaved parsley

·       Salt & pepper

Method

1. If using fresh clams, soak them in heavily salted water (as salty as seawater) for 20 minutes to help them expel grit and sand.
2. You can also use frozen clams – no need to defrost them first. Just rinse and add straight into the pan at step 7.
3. After cleaning, soak clams in unsalted cold water for 10 minutes to remove excess salt.
4. Cook spaghetti in well‑salted boiling water until al dente (about 2 minutes less than the packet instructions).
5. Heat olive oil in a large, lidded frying pan.
6. Gently sauté the sliced garlic and fresh chilli until soft but not browned.
7. Add clams to the pan.
8. Pour in the white wine, increase the heat, and cover with a lid.
9. Shake the pan every 20 seconds. Fresh Clams should open and cook in about 2 minutes. Allow about 5-6 mins for frozen clams.
10. Remove from heat and discard any unopened clams or empty shells.
11. Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of cooking water.
12. Toss the linguine or spaghetti in the clam and wine sauce until well coated.
13. Add some of the reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
14. Stir in fresh parsley and let everything sit for 1–2 minutes so the pasta absorbs the flavours.
15. For a bit of extra umami, add a knob of butter at the end and plenty of black pepper.

Make it your own

This is a classic recipe that needs little doing to it, but there's always room to make it adapt to whatever you have available. I know in the States they often use tinned clams, which I've not tried, but would be happy to. I often add a pinch of dried red chilli or cayenne pepper instead of the fresh chilli.

Seafood Pasta

From here, it's really only a short walk from pimping up everything to include prawns, mussels or whatever takes your fancy. If using prawns, I usually fry them separately before adding at the end. I also par cook the mussels first as they take a little longer than clams.

Bon appetit!