Spaghetti Alle Vongole in Bianco

Servings 4

Difficulty Medium

Ingredients

Kosher salt
4 pounds fresh small clams , such as littlenecks, Manilas, or cockles (about 4 dozen littlenecks or 5 dozen Manilas or cockles)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , plus more as needed
3 medium cloves garlic , very thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 pound dried spaghetti
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
Small handful minced fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

1

Fill a large bowl with cold water and stir in enough salt to make it salty like the sea (3 percent salinity; for 8 cups of water, use 7 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt). Add clams and let stand 30 minutes. Lift clams from water and discard purging water; if there is sand in the bottom of the bowl, rinse it out and repeat this process until clams no longer release sand into the water (usually 2 to 3 purging cycles). Discard any clams that are gaping open and refuse to close when prodded.
2

In a large skillet, combine oil with garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until garlic is very lightly golden, about 5 minutes. (Adjust heat as necessary to keep it gently sizzling.)
3

Add white wine and clams, cover, and increase heat to high. Cook, checking every 30 seconds or so and transferring clams as they open to a large heatproof bowl, until all clams have opened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
4

Allow clams to cool slightly, then pull meat from shells; save a few shell-on clams per serving for garnish. If clam meat is large (for example, from larger littleneck clams), you can roughly chop it.
5

In a pot or large skillet of lightly salted water (1 percent salinity; for 12 cups of water, use 3 tablespoons salt), cook pasta until just shy of al dente (about 1 minute less than cooking time on package). Reserve at least one cup of pasta cooking water. Transfer pasta to skillet with white-wine sauce, add a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water, and cook over high heat, stirring and tossing rapidly, until sauce has reduced and is beginning to form a creamy, emulsified coating on the noodles. Add butter, if using, and both clam meat and shell-on clams. Cook, stirring, until butter is melted and clams are heated through, about 1 minute; add more pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if sauce over-reduces and becomes dry or greasy. Continue to add pasta water until desired consistency. Season with salt if necessary. Remove from heat.
6

Stir in parsley and a drizzle of fresh olive oil. Transfer to bowls and serve right away.