This is a twist on the classic Southern Italian dish of spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with clams). Here, for additional flavour the spicy, spreadable pork sausage from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy is added. This is similar to sobrassada from the Balearic Islands in Spain, and is loosely based on the French andouille and is one of the ‘in’ ingredients of the moment. This makes an excellent Valentine’s day to share.
Prep time 15 minutes/Cook time 15 minutes/Serves 2
Ingredients:
150g (1/3 lb) dried linguine
500g (1 lb) clams, scrubbed
20g (4/5 oz) ’nduja sausage
½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, (15g)
100ml (2/5 cup) light rosé wine
Method:
Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions (about 12 minute cooking time), draining the linguine 1 minute early and reserving a mugful of the cooking water.
Meanwhile, sort through the clams, giving any that aren’t tightly closed a tap. If they don’t close, discard them. Tear the ’nduja into a large cold non-stick frying pan, add 1 tbsp of olive oil, place on a medium heat and let the ’nduja melt while you finely chop the parsley (stalks and all).
Stir most of the parsley into the ’nduja pan along with the clams and rosé, and cover securely with a lid. After 3 or 4 minutes the clams will start to open – keep jiggling the pan until they’ve all opened, then remove from the heat, discarding any unopened clams.
Toss the drained pasta into the clam pan along with a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper, if needed.
Turn the pasta into a warmed serving dish, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and scatter over the remaining parsley then serve.
