Video: how to make Spaghetteria’s linguine alle vongole

It’s all well and good that we’re allowed to go to Italy again this summer, but that’s not necessary anymore. Spaghetteria has put a video series online that instantly makes you feel like you’re in la bella Italia. And you’ll learn how to make pasta like a pro, too. What am I saying? Like an Italian. Hooray!

From penne all’arrabbiata to spaghetti carbonara; Spag-chef Gianluca shows you how it’s done. And hey, can we give this man and his flair a round of applause? As far as I’m concerned, he deserves his own TV show. 24Kitchen and RTL, are you reading this? I’m looking at a star on the rise here. Mark my words.

Anyway, pasta. This time: linguine alle vongole. One of Spaghetteria’s most popular pastas, and to make it extra good, I asked the chef himself for some great tips and tricks (read them below the video). Take advantage of them.

Okay, so the mise en place and cleaning the vongole are very important. How do you really wash them properly?

“Make sure they’re well submerged in water with about 100 grams of fine salt. This makes them ‘spit out’ the sand inside the shell. If you don’t do this first, they’ll do it when you actually cook them. A waste of your dish.”

What should you look out for when buying vongole?

“A quality check is very important: they shouldn’t be more than a day old and they definitely shouldn’t be open—then they’re dead. Check carefully that the mollusc isn’t coming out. Sometimes the mollusc’s mouth comes slightly out of the shell; if you touch it and it immediately shoots back inside, it’s still alive and fresh.”

That ‘shock heat’ flame in the pan looks impressive, but how do you do it safely at home?

“Don’t! If you’re in a professional kitchen or you’re a chef, go ahead, but don’t try this at home haha!”

Which wine do you recommend?

“Definitely a fresh, dry white wine. It’s a summer dish, so you want something fresh and cooling. A Trebbiano from Abruzzo or a Soave Classico from Venice are good options. A Vermentino from Sardinia is also delicious with it.”

In the video, you talk about ‘mantecare’. What is that?

“There isn’t a true translation, but it’s a technique in which you mix the ingredients to create a creamy texture. In this case, through the pasta water and/or the cooking liquid from the vongole.”

Although—with the exception of a few people—we know that you don’t eat vongole shell and all, opinions are divided on how to eat them. There’s team—remove everything from the shell first and then eat—and team—remove one from the shell, take a bite, remove one from the shell, take a bite. What is the authentic Italian way?

“All over Italy, from north to south, the rule is: first remove the vongole from the shells, then mix them with the pasta so that every bite contains a little vongole. Buon appetito!”

For convenience, here’s the recipe for linguine alle vongole:

Serves 4:
500 to 600 g linguine or spaghetti
1 kg clams (preferably medium-sized)
1 bunch of parsley
1 clove of garlic
1/2 fresh chilli pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 glass of dry white wine
salt and pepper

Here’s how to make it:

1. Wash and rinse the clams. Place them in cold water with some salt for 20 minutes so they open up. Preferably repeat this a few times. Discard damaged shells.
2. Wash the parsley, finely chop it and set aside.
3. Place a pot with plenty of water and some salt on the heat for the pasta.
4. Roughly chop the garlic and slice the chilli pepper, then fry them in a frying pan with a splash of olive oil until the garlic is golden brown.
5. Add the clams, cover the pan with a lid and leave for a few seconds over high heat. Lower the heat, remove the lid and deglaze with the white wine. Quickly put the lid back on and cook the clams for 3–5 minutes, until they have all opened. Shake the pan back and forth occasionally.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the liquid from the pan into a small saucepan.
7. Set the pan with the shells aside and cover with a lid so the clam meat stays moist.
8. Cook the pasta al dente in plenty of boiling salted water and drain.
9. Bring the small saucepan with the clam liquid to the boil over high heat and cook the spaghetti in it, stirring, for about another half minute.
10. Place the linguine on the plates, divide the clams and liquid among the plates, and sprinkle with parsley.

Also read:

• How to make Spaghetteria’s penne all’arrabbiata
• Delivery review: cocktail bar Flying Dutchmen and Spaghetteria Pasta-bar
• Hospitality entrepreneurs on their first days open again (part 1)