What is Vongole?
Vongole is Italian for “clams”. Pasta Vongole or Spaghetti alle Vongole therefore is just pasta dish served with a clam sauce, a classic dish in Italy.
Ingredients needed
I used frozen, whole clams for this Pasta Vongole recipe, however this is the perfect recipe to make if you can find fresh clams. Any small clams will work. Manila clams and Littleneck clams are good options if you can find them. The sauce consist of olive oil, fresh garlic cloves, a pinch of chilli flakes/red pepper flakes, a few teaspoons of lemon juice, white wine, butter and fresh parsley. Butter (I used salted but unsalted butter can be used too) adds a touch of creaminess to the sauce. I used spaghetti but linguine can also be used. Long pasta is definitely better for this dish, in my opinion. The white wine can be substituted with an extra squeeze of lemon and half cup clam juice or chicken stock. I used Sauvignon Blanc but any dry white wine will work well.
How to make Pasta Vongole (summary)
Can I make this in advance?
The sauce is definitely best eaten cooked fresh. The clams tend to go rubbery when they are reheated. The clams can be soaked and cooked up to a day in advance and kept in the fridge before adding to the sauce and heating through.
What to serve with pasta vongole
Although this is a meal all on its own it would be delicious served with a green side salad and some crusty bread or garlic bread.
Easy side salad Garlic bread
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