Spaghetti Vongole

01JUL

Vongole means clams in Italian. One can get fresh clams or use canned ones. Here is a photo of the clams available in supermarkets in Malaysia.

The top tin is clams in chillie sauce. The lower tin, which will be used in this recipe is clams in water (broth). Cost less than RM3 per tin.

This is how the clams look like. It still maintain its firmness. The plus point of using this canned clam is the convenience. Otherwise, it is a chore to clean and prepare live clams. At least you are assured that each and everyone of them is ‘fresh’.

These are garlic, dried chillies and coarse black pepper. (you can buy coarse black pepper from Tesco spice station)

RECIPE FOR SPAGHETTI VONGOLE

2/3 packet of spaghetti (can serve 3 person, you can use the whole packet if you like)

Huge pot of boiling water, some oil and salt

Boil the spaghetti for about 20 minutes. Only add in the pasta WHEN the water is BOILING furiously.

Meantime….

In a small pan, add
4 tablespoon of olive oil and stir in:

1 chopped garlic
5 stalks of dried chillies (clean by soaking in hot water and remove seeds)
2 teaspoon of coarse black pepper

Do NOT allow the garlic to turn brown. Add in the clam AND ITS JUICES and turn down fire. By now, the spaghetti would be al dente (i.e. firm yet soft, unlike those bad restaurants which serve mushy pastas).

Add in the drained spaghetti and flavour with some salt. If you have some white wine available, pour in about half a cup. Optional, not necessary.

Serve. You can garnish with coriander leaves if available

More pasta recipes can be found at my parenting website. One of them uses the top tin of chillie clams.

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14 thoughts on “Spaghetti Vongole”

babe_kl

(July 1, 2005 - 8:35 am)

gee i din know they come in cans hehehe thanks for the lead

mX

(July 1, 2005 - 10:45 am)

that looks awesome~~can fedex me sum ar? //drooling

muahah auntie lilian~lemme cook u sum steak~~
//pours heaps of red wine in it to make auntie drunk MWAHAHAHAHA

athene

(July 1, 2005 - 12:04 pm)

apa pasai tak boleh post komen macik?

lilian

(July 1, 2005 - 2:36 pm)

athene – I pun tak tau, I sendiri pun kena censored.

mX – Lesson learnt, I can get drunk after all.

babe – we are learning from each other’s blog every day.

boo_licious

(July 1, 2005 - 6:28 pm)

Wowee – I want! I want!

Like babe, I never knew they came in cans – only see the shucked ones in the supermarket.

lilian

(July 2, 2005 - 1:41 am)

boo – It is so common on supermarket shelves you know? Next to the sardines. But actually, I knew about this from my hubby’s Italian colleague. hahaha.

Those sold freshly can harbour bacterias, so better stick to this canned ones. More hygenic I would say.