Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce
Serves 6 Time 1 hour Difficulty 2/5 Ingredients 10 Steps 10
This recipe is an Americanized version of spaghetti alle vongole, a Neapolitan dish that's popular throughout Italy. The traditional, Neapolitan version calls for clams, spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, parsley, salt, black pepper and sometimes red pepper flakes. This American version adds butter, white wine and sometimes cream to the traditional ingredients.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 8 oz clams or carpet clams as they are sometimes known
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 large pinch of red pepper flakes
- ½ cup white wine
- Zest or the juice of 1 lemon
- Zest of ½ lime
- Spaghetti, enough for the number of people to be served
- 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley
- 1 oz salted butter
Steps
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Add the spaghetti. Watch the time to avoid overcooking.
- Poach clams with white wine in a separate small saucepan about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside.
- Heat a generous quantity of olive oil in a small frying pan.
- Add garlic cloves, chillies, chopped parsley and lemon zest. Heat about 3 minutes.
- Add about ½ of the white wine the clams cooked in. Heat on high a few minutes to reduce slightly.
- Add the cooked clams to the sauce. Turn the heat off.
- Drain the cooked pasta through a sieve or colander. Return to the saucepan.
- Add salted butter to the pasta. Mix through to thicken the sauce slightly.
- Add the clams and sauce to the pasta. Mix thoroughly without damaging the clams.
- Serve in a high-sided bowl, with clams for each guest.
Notes from the original
- Add some cream to the sauce before serving if you like. However refrain from adding parmesan cheese. Most Italians frown on adding cheese to fish-based pasta dishes. Also, you don't have to use spaghetti. Penne works well with the spicy sauce. Linguine also works. But make sure the pasta is al dente.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-04-12, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.