Clams with Spaghetti, White Wine, Chilli & Garlic
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes (add 10 minutes if you are steaming the clams from scratch)
- 500g/1pound spaghetti
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 long red chillies, finely chopped
- 1 roma tomato, chopped
- 1 kg/2 pounds little neck clams*
- 1 cup clam juice from the clams**
- Splash of white wine
- 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- Juice from half a lemon
*I used some vacuum packed cooked clams that I bought at the supermarket
**If you don't have clam juice, use fish stock
For raw clams: Dealing with raw little neck clams is even easier than mussels because there is no beard to pull out. All you do is take closed clams and scrub the shells if there is debris and then steam over an inch of simmering water until they open. Like with mussels discard any that don't open.
Step 1 - Boil spaghetti in plenty of salted, boiling water until al dente.
Step 2 - While the spaghetti is cooking, heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion and garlic and saute until softened and fragrant. Add the chillies and tomato and saute for another minute. Then add the clam juice and white wine and simmer until reduced -about 8 minutes or so. Then add the clams and cook until flesh becomes creamy.
Step 3 - The spaghetti should be ready during this time so drain it and rinse it under cold water. Add it to the sauce and clams and toss with tongs. Sprinkle with parsley and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.