Gragnano spaghetti with fresh clam sauce

The recipe for spaghetti with clam sauce has been around for a long time and has always been included in the ancient texts of Neapolitan cuisine where it calls for the use of spaghetti or vermicelli, which is much thinner, or linguini. The prime ingredient is fresh, non-cultivated clams (ruditapes decussatus) and the recipe has various versions: with or without tomato, with or without chili pepper.

The following is our family recipe, I hope you like it.

Ingredients for 4 people: 

400g of Gragnano spaghetti, 1kg fresh clams, 5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, chopped parsley, chili pepper as desired and a few DOP Piennolo del Vesuvio tomatoes.

Directions:  

Rinse the clams several times and keep them for a few ours in abundant salt water.

Warm the olive oil in a large pan and delicately sauté the peeled and crushed garlic with the chili pepper. When the oil begins to darken add the drained clams and raise the heat. Cover the pan and cook the clams for a few minutes until they open. Remove the clams with a skimmer and shell most of them, leaving a dozen or so for decoration. Filter the juice left in the pan and keep aside.

Sauté the tomatoes in a pan with a tablespoon of oil and then add the shelled clams and cook for a few minutes.

Boil the spaghetti in abundant water and drain when they are ‘al dente’. Put them immediately in the pan with the tomatoes and continue to cook for a couple of minutes at a low heat, slowly adding the clam juice.

Once the liquid has been absorbed serve the pasta hot, sprinkled with abundant chopped parsley and decorated with the clams still in their shells.

N.B.: since he water from the clams is already very salty, do not add salt to the sauce and very little to the water to cook the pasta.

Wine to pair: 

Franciacorta Docg Extra Dry 

The DOCG denomination (guaranteed and controlled origin) of Franciacorta allows 5 different version of this wine: Franciacorta, Franciacorta Satèn, Franciacorta Rosé, Franciacorta Millesimato and Franciacorta Riserva. All wines that undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle and residue is removed by disgorgement.

Franciacorta has a straw yellow color with golden tints, fine and persistent effervescence. A characteristic bouquet of fermentation in the bottle, hints of bread crust and yeast enriched with delicate notes of citrus, fresh fruits (peaches, apples and pears) and nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, dried figs). Savory, fresh, fine and harmonious.

The best pairing for Spaghetti alle vongole veraci is the type Extra Dry, with sugar dosage of 12 to 17 g/l, a softer version.

Area of production: in the province of Brescia, in the quality soils in the towns of Paratico, Capriolo, Adro, Erbusco, Cortefranca, Iseo, Ome, Monticelli Brusati, Rodengo Saiano, Paderno Franciacorta, Passirano, Provaglio d’Iseo, Cellatica and Gussago, as well as in an area that includes the towns of Cologne, Coccaglio, Rovato, Cazzago San Martino and Brescia. Excluded are areas that are not sunny enough or are at the bottle of a valley, humid areas near rivers, streams or lakes and vineyards above an altitude of 550m.

Grape varieties: Chardonnay and/or Pinot Noir, with the use of Pinot Blanc permitted up to a maximum of 50%.

Winemaking method: The grapes must be turned into must exclusively through direct pressing without any destemming of the grapes. The use of oak barrels is allowed for fermentation and aging. The time the wine must sit on the lees begins when the wine is bottled and lasts until it is disgorged after a minimum of 18 months. Processing and maturation continue for at least 25 months after the harvest. Bottle pressure between 5 and 6 atmospheres.

Serving temperature: 8°C.

THIS RECIPE IS OFFERED BY CONSORZIO DI TUTELA FRANCIACORTA