Linguini alle Vongole

Picture this…summer in the south of Italy, sitting beach side, wind in your hair and a delicious plate of linguini alle vongole for pranzo (lunch). While that’s definitely my preferred way to enjoy this dish, it’s not always possible, so making it at home will have to do! This dish is so easy to make and the flavor is out of this world!

Ingredients

1lb linguini

2 lb vongole

2 containers of cherry tomatoes (1 pint each)

2 cloves of garlic sliced thin

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup dry white wine

red pepper and salt to taste

fresh parsley for garnish

Directions

Note: I like to let my vongole soak in salt water to release all of the sand before I cook them. I usually do this in the morning and change the water out 2-3 times throughout the day before I cook them

Fill a large pot with water and salt generously, put it on a medium flame to bring to a boil

In another large pot or dutch oven, add olive oil, garlic and red pepper. Sautee for 4-5 minutes

Next, add the clams and white wine

Cover and cook on high heat until the clams open up

Once open, remove the clams and put them to the side

Add your cherry tomatoes to the pot, salt them generously, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes on medium-high flame until you have a nice sauce

Cook your pasta according to package instructions while the sauce is cooking

Add some fresh parsley and then add the clams back to the pot

Strain your pasta, make sure to reserve some pasta water to add to everything once it’s done

Add the pasta to the pot and mix everything together, slowly add the pasta water until you reach your desired sauce consistency

Garnish with more fresh parsley

Serve immediately

Buon appetito!