Recipe: Ziti Rigate alle Vongole

Recently, exceptional cultured clams have been making an appearance in East Coast fish stores and supermarkets. They have unique regional flavors that stem from subtle water quality and salinity differences at each growing site.

We love baked clams oreganata, as well as raw clams on the half-shell when eating at local Italian eateries. But a dish I like very much is the penne or ziti rigate alle vomgole. We normally use both chopped canned and fresh clams when preparing the dish in our kitchen.

If no fresh clams are available, you can use whole canned ones together with the chopped clams.

Our version is a rich dish that uses a full stick of butter for the sauce and both chopped canned and fresh clams. The original Neapolitan recipe from which our version was adapted uses linguini or bucatini and fresh tomato, but we prefer penne rigate or ziti rigate pasta. They provide more surfaces for the sauce to stick on, and we like the sauce white without the tomato.

Ingredients (serves 2 to 4):

1/2 16-ounce package (8 ounces) of ziti or penne rigate (We use mostly Barilla brand pasta, but any good quality pasta made with durum wheat will do. Avoid gluten-free pasta if you don’t have a problem with gluten.)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 8-ounce bottle of clam juice
1/2 cup of white wine (Pinot Grigio preferred)
2 pinches dry oregano
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 4-ounce stick of sweet butter
Juice of 1/2 lemon or to taste
24 to 26 cultured littleneck clams, but you can use other larger clam varieties
1 6.5-ounce can of chopped clam meat
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro
Salt to taste

Toasted peasant bread slices
1 large garlic clove to rub on the toasted bread

Method:

Start by boiling the pasta for 9 to 10 minutes in salted water until it is just al-dente.

While the pasta is boiling, heat the oil on medium in a large sauteuse pan that can be covered.

Sauté the chopped shallot and garlic until transparent but not browned.

Add the clam juice, wine, oregano, red pepper flakes, and butter. Cook until the butter melts.

Add the lemon juice, and lower the heat to a gentle simmer.

Add the littleneck clams, and cover. Simmer covered until all the clams open. Discard any that do not open. If you’re using whole canned clams, this is the time to add them as well.

Drain the pasta, and add it to the clams and sauce. Mix well.

Turn off the heat after the pasta softens to your taste, and allow all ingredients to meld for a few minutes.

Transfer to a bowl or platter, and sprinkle the chopped parsley or cilantro on top.

Serve with toasted peasant bread rubbed with garlic.

Obviously, the wine to drink with this dish is Pinot Grigio, but a high quality South American Sauvignon Blanc, a juicy Albariño, or even a Greek Assyrtiko will work just as well.