Island recipes
Spaghetti alle vongole: the Ischian tradition
A very simple dish — five ingredients — that reveals the quality of every one of them. This is how it's made on Ischia.
01
Ingredients (serves 4)
400 g spaghetti; 1 kg local vongole veraci (Manila clams); 3 garlic cloves, skin on; 1 fresh chilli; extra virgin olive oil; fresh parsley; salt (little — the clams bring their own).
02
Purging the clams
Soak in cold salted water (35 g of salt per litre) for at least 2 hours, in a cool place. Discard any that stay open under pressure.
03
Opening the clams
In a wide pan, warm a splash of oil with one garlic clove and a pinch of chilli. Add the clams, cover, high heat. They open in 3–4 minutes. Off the heat: shell half, and reserve the filtered juice.
04
Cooking the pasta
Cook the spaghetti in a little salted water, drain 2 minutes before al dente. In a clean pan, oil and two more garlic cloves; add the pasta and finish cooking it with the clam juice, stirring (a risotto-style mantecatura).
05
Finishing
Add the clams, both shelled and in shell, a final drizzle of raw oil, chopped parsley. One last toss, serve immediately. No cheese, no tomato, no wine during cooking.
06
The wine
A Biancolella d'Ischia, cool from the cellar. The canonical pairing — salinity with salinity.