RECIPE : WHITE CLAM SAUCE by MARCELLA HAZAN
William Parker
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White Clam Sauce
Everywhere in Venice – or in Italy for that matter – one can eat spaghetti with clams, but none tastes like the dish Cesare Benelli makes at Al Covo, the restaurant he owns with his Texan wife, Diane. Cesare’s genial variation on this timeless theme consists of holding back the natural juices of the just-opened clams, draining the pasta while it is still underdone, then finishing the cooking of it in a skillet together with the clam juice. The pasta, by the time it becomes fully cooked, drinks up all the fresh clam juices, achieving a density and richness of flavor no other version of this dish can match.
1 ½ - 2 dozen littleneck clams*
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced paper-thin
1 ½ tablespoons chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
Chopped fresh hot chili pepper, 2 teaspoons or dried red
pepper flakes, to taste
1 fresh, ripe, firm plum tomato, cut into ½ inch dice with
its skin on, but drained of juice and all seeds removed
½ cup dry white wine
1 pound dry spaghettini (Barilla or imported Italian brand)
6 fresh basil leaves, torn into 2 or 3 pieces |
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1. Soak the clams for 5 minutes in a basin, sink or large pot filled with cold water. Drain and refill the basin with fresh cold water, leaving in the clams. Vigorously scrub the clams one by one with a very stiff brush. Drain, refill the receptacle, and repeat the whole scrubbing operation. Do this 2 or 3 more times, always in fresh change of water, until the water runs clear and you see no more sand settling to the bottom. Discard any that, when handled, don’t clamp shut.
2. Put them in a pan broad enough so that the clams don’t need to be piled up more than 3 deep, cover the pan, and turn the heat to high. Check the clams frequently, turning them over, and remove them from the pan as they open their shells.
3. When all the clams have opened up, take them out of the pan, using a slotted spoon. Try not to stir up the juices in the pan any more than you must. Detach the clam meat from its shell, and gently swish each clam in the pan juices to rinse off any sand. Unless they are exceptionally small, cut them up in 2 or even 3 pieces. Put them in a small bowl, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over them, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set it aside for later. Do not refrigerate.
4. Line a strainer a paper towel, and filter the clam juices in the pan through the paper and into another bowl. Set aside for later.
5. Choose a skillet or sauté pan broad enough to contain the pasta later. Put in 3 tablespoons olive oil and the sliced garlic, and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook the garlic, stirring it, for just a few seconds, without letting it become colored, then add the parsley and the chili pepper. Stir once or twice, and add the diced tomato. Cook the tomato for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring it from time to time, then add the wine. Simmer the wine for about 20 to 30 seconds, letting it reduce, then turn off the heat.
6. Cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water until it is very firm to the bite, barely short of being fully cooked. When you bite a piece off, it should feel slightly stiff and the narrowest of chalk-white cores should be showing in the center of the strand.
7. Turn the heat on to high under the skillet or sauté pan, drain the pasta and transfer it immediately to the pan. Add all the filtered clam juice, and cook, tossing and turning the pasta, until all the juice has evaporated. If the pasta was not too underdone when you drained it, it should now be perfectly cooked. Taste it and, in the unlikely event it needs more cooking after the clam juices have evaporated and been absorbed, add a small amount of water.
8. As soon as the pasta is done, before you turn the heat off, add the cut-up clams with all the oil in the bowl and the torn basil leaves, toss in the pan 2 or 3 times, then transfer to a warm platter and serve at once.
* I told Marcella about the delicious Maine clams that are available in our local markets and she gave me permission to offer them as a substitute for the more expensive littlenecks. Selling for about $6 for a 50-count bag, these work wonderfully in the recipe, making this pasta a luxury everyone can afford (Maine clams are dredged and tend to be more sandy than littlenecks, so be sure to follow Step 1 in the recipe very carefully). They tend to be a little more saline in flavor so you might want to add a tablespoon of water to the broth before you toss the pasta with it at the end. - WP
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