Spaghetti con Vongole e Bottarga Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Spaghetti con Vongole e Bottarga Recipe

This classic, simple, fisherman’s pasta consists of spaghetti, olive oil (home-pressed, of course!) and a little chili, and the bottarga is left in a bowl on the table, so each person can vary the amount they sprinkle on their plate depending on individual taste. This version gets a little fancy, with the addition of vongole (clams).

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Main

Cuisine: Sardinian

Servings:

Calories: 841kcal

Author: Terence Carter

Equipment

Ingredients

500 g 1lb spaghetti (No.5)
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small knob of butter
1 kg 2.2lb small clams (vongole)
50 g 1.75oz packet of bottarga di muggine macinata (you may not use it all)
1 cup dry white wine for the pot 1 glass extra for the chef
4 cloves of garlic crushed slightly
Good pinch of peperoncino or dried red chilli, chopped into tiny pieces
Bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the pasta as per the timing listed with the instructions. It’s usually around 8 minutes for this size spaghetti.
Back away from the olive oil bottle! Don’t waste good olive oil by putting it in with the pasta. It’s the rolling boil that stops it sticking together; adding oil to stop pasta sticking is a myth. Maybe an olive oil producer came up with that one…anyway back to the recipe.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic. Add the peperoncino and a handful of the chopped parsley.
Take out the garlic and add the wine, clams, and a tablespoon of bottarga. Put the heat on high and cover the pan.
Sip your wine. Wait about 4–5 minutes for the clams to cook.
Discard any clams that don’t look like opening. Some say this is a myth. If some of these non-believers are at your table for dinner and are being disagreeable about it, give them those unopened clams to eat while you finish the dish.
Drain the pasta. Toss with the clams and sauce. Add another tablespoon of bottarga.
Serve the pasta family-style or individually, it’s up to you, but make sure there’s a little dish of bottarga on the table and a spoon for sprinkling it over the pasta. Because your guests will want more.

Nutrition