Spaghetti allo Scoglio - Pasta with mussels and clams

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Before I tell you how to make this dish that will transport you to the sun-kissed, azured-sea, rocky-shored, hot-and-gorgeous-sunbather-laden isle of Ponza, off the coast of Rome, I would like to issue a complaint. It’s a kvetch necessary for the spiel.

For many years I cooked what I considered a masterful pasta con le vongole (pasta with clams) without using the precious juices released by the clams as they cook. I knew Italian chefs considered the juices the secret to this dish, but I didn’t know what to do with them and certainly wasn’t going to allow my pasta to sit in a watery plate of clam juice–that goes against every Italian culinary principle in existence.

Despite researching dozens of Italian recipes and YouTube videos of Italian chefs, I couldn’t find anyone who properly addresses the steps in between cooking the clams, which creates an abundance of liquid, and then having a precisely al dente pasta with a sauce that perfectly coats each noodle with no run-off on the side of your plate. What are these chefs doing that they are not telling us?

Some recipes add wine, some don’t. Some add tomato, some don’t. Most recipes call for covering the pan when cooking the clams, which allows for no evaporation of liquids. Furthermore, most encourage you to save water from the pasta pot in order to add even more liquid to the sauce once the pasta is done. Where the hell does all that water go? Maybe because Italian clams are smaller, less water is produced in the cooking process? So I consulted American cookbooks which brought me to Mario.

Ah, Mario Batali, you ginger genius, lately undone by your own appetites (particularly you alleged appetite for inappropriate groping). Your restaurant Mozza is one of my favorites in LA, so I went straight to Molto Gusto for guidance. Unfortunately, your recipe for Linguini with Clams–closed lid, wine, extra water from the pasta–led to another watery disaster. Mario, there’s a secret step in that recipe that you are not telling us!

Finally, I found another recipe of Mario’s online that finally set this pasta right. He left the mollusks uncovered and undercooked the pasta so he could finish cooking in the pan. Aha!

So here’s what you need to do:

  1. Cook the clams over a lively heat UNCOVERED. Aside from allowing the juices to condense, this will also slow down the time it takes for them to open and help you synchronize the timing with the cooking of the pasta.

  2. Undercook the pasta by two minutes. If you don’t know what two-minute-undercooked-pasta tastes like, this recipe os not for you. Yet. Practice with more forgiving recipes first.

  3. Finish cooking the pasta with the clams. It will soak up all their precious juices, flavoring every bite without leaving a puddle on your plate.

Okay, kvetch complete! Now go make this pasta and imagine yourself on Ponza, surrounded by those gorgeous sunbathers. Slurp, slurp! If you need help, you can watch this video here. But make sure you watch it to the end. 

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced in half vertically

  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • 2 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 pound linguini

  • 1 pound clams

  • 1 pound mussels

  • 1/2 cup or a “glug” of dry white wine

  • 1/4 cup freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Notes: The flavor of this pasta are too subtle for cheese, so don’t even try it! If you feel it needs something, add some flaky salt.

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat.

  2. Place a large pan over medium heat, and let it get hot for a few minutes. Choose a pan that’s deep enough to hold the clams and the mussels along with all the pasta once cooked.

  3. Add the olive oil, the garlic, and the red pepper flakes, in that order.

  4. When the garlic is translucent, a minute or two, add the tomatoes and stir.

  5. Add the slat to the tomatoes, which will help them release their water.

  6. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have begun to form a sauce and the liquid has begun to tighten.

  7. At this point, add a handful of kosher salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Stir. And jump immediately to step 8.

  8. While the pasta is cooking, pt the clams and mussels in with the tomatoes, and add the wine. Shake the pan and stir gently at times to create space for the clams and mussels to open. Let them cook for about 7 minutes. At this point, the pasta should be about 2 minutes short of al dente. Drain it, and throw it into the clam and mussel sauce to finish cooking.

  9. Toss with care for the next couple of minutes, until the pasta has soaked in the juices and has become al dente.

  10. Sprinkle with parsley and serve!

Elana Horwichseafood, Pasta, Mains