The nicest collaborations sometimes come out of the blue. Being in London for the past few weeks, I have been catching up with good old friends and taking the opportunity to make new ones as well. I met Noemi, a London based photographer from Sicily, we immersed ourselves in the world of our common passion – food photography- and enjoyed a wonderful dish of linguini alle vongole. Greece met Italy, in London.

Head straight to the recipe.

With Noemi we met a very sunny London morning. We had made little plans on what to cook.  It wasn’t hard to decide a dish on the spot. A warm, bright day can only make you think of one thing: seafood! Which also brings us both a little closer to home.  Being on the same line of work, food photography, chat comes effortlessly. Unavoidably it revolves around forks, spoons and all the goodness these can bring together. Most notably good food and great shots.

In London, you can literally find all your heart desires. Our clams, are not the traditional small clams used in Italy, but British ones, sourced from northern shores. We grabbed a bunch of fragrant parsley from the local farmers market and a simple dry white wine did just fine. Once we got home, the pots were on fire, a couple of garlic cloves roughly chopped, in went the clams and fire was mellowed by a glass of wine. This is pretty much all you need for one of the most iconic pasta dishes Italian cuisine has ever offered: linguini alle vongole.

I have a soft spot for seafood, exactly for how quick and easy it is to cook. There is no need to mention their divine flavour, if you are a seafood lover you know these little clams will bring all the goodness of the sea to your table. For me, this quick dish was extra special. I gave the camera to Noemi and had fun food styling and slurped on an extra bowl of linguini behind the set.

Print Recipe

Linguine alle Vongole

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 kg clams scrubbed clean
• 1 small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 400 g dried spaghetti
• A pinch of sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 dried chilies if you like it spicy

Instructions

• Bring a pot of water to the boil with a bit of salt and cook the linguini to your liking, al dente is best.
• Whilst the pasta is boiling, peel and chop the garlic cloves and prepare the parsley. Clean the clams, discarding any broken shells.
• Heat up a spoonful of olive oil and add the garlic and chillies if using, stir fry for a couple of minutes.
• Add the clams, pour in the wine and put the lid on top.
• The clams will start opening in approximately 3-4 minutes, keep shaking until they have all opened, remove from heat and discard any closed ones.
• Grab a pair of tongs and move the pasta in the clams’ pot, simmer for a couple of minutes so that the linguini soak up the juices.
• Add the parsley, add seasoning to your liking and an extra helping of olive oil. Toss well and you are ready to serve.

Ingredients

• 1 kg clams, scrubbed clean
• 1 small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 400 g dried spaghetti
• A pinch of sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
•  1-2 dried chilies, if you like it spicy

How to make it:

1. Bring a pot of water to the boil with a bit of salt and cook the linguini to your liking, al dente is best.
2. Whilst the pasta is boiling, peel and chop the garlic cloves and prepare the parsley. Clean the clams, discarding any broken shells.
3. Heat up a spoonful of olive oil and add the garlic and chillies if using, stir fry for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the clams, pour in the wine and put the lid on top.
5. The clams will start opening in approximately 3-4 minutes, keep shaking until they have all opened, remove from heat and discard any closed ones.
6. Grab a pair of tongs and move the pasta in the clams’ pot, simmer for a couple of minutes so that the linguini soak up the juices.
7. Add the parsley, add seasoning to your liking and an extra helping of olive oil. Toss well and you are ready to serve.

 Enjoy your linguini al dente and with a chilled white wine.

From London with love,

Eugenia

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