Linguine with baby clams

A great dish inspired by, of course, the Ocean and the Italians. Sadly I have been to a number of so called “Italian” restaurants that come nowhere near to getting this dish right. I’ve had it with more sand than the local beach and garlic raw enough to ward of demons. If you follow this recipe to the letter you will end up with Linguine Vongole better than most places around.

What you need
750 grams (1.5 lbs) fresh vongole (baby clams)
500 grams (1 lb) fresh linguine
5 cloves of garlic (chopped)
A few sprigs of flat leaf parsley (chopped)
2 red birds eye chillies chopped (chili peppers) (optional)
2 lemons
Extra virgin olive oil
White wine
Sea salt flakes
Cracked black pepper

What to do
Place the clams in a strainer, then set that in a large mixing bowl and with the clams completely submerged, run cold water over them for about 10 minutes.
Lift the clams out of the water by hand and you should find a fair bit of sand in the bottom of the bowl.
Cook the pasta until al’dente and rinse until cold.
Arrange 4 serving plates or bowls.
Place a pot of boiling salted water on to boil.
In a liberal amount of olive oil sauté the garlic for about a minute and add the chilli.
Once the garlic is very lightly browned immediately remove the contents of the pan into a large mixing bowl.
Wipe the pan clean and return it to the heat.
Add the clams and a splash of wine.
Keep the pan moving and as soon as the clams open remove them to the bowl of garlic one at a time with some tongs.
Once all the clams have opened, plunge the pasta back into the water.
While the pasta rewarms place pan back over the heat and add the clams and garlic back in, sprinkle with chopped parley, more olive oil if needed and a splash of wine.
Drain the pasta, taste the pan contents for one last final seasoning and combine everything for one last time and toss with the juice of one or two lemons, serve and garnish with a little more parsley.

Enjoy with crusty white bread