Spaghetti Vongole
This is one of Katsudon’s favourite dishes in the whole world. I used to patronise a little Italian restaurant on Lygon St which served a tantalising version, and was bitterly disappointed when after a few years the chef seemed to have left, or got Alzheimer’s, and the dish became an awful, sloppy mess. I never went back and since then have been experimenting at home to make a similar version. Fortunately it’s not that hard, and Neil Perry’s book “Food I love” has quite a good recipe for it. Clams are really not that expensive so this dish is really value for money (and a waste of money if you have it outside!!) Feel free to adjust the chilli as you please! The recipe also calls for some dry white wine - you can get a great cleanskin at Dan Murphy’s for about $4. And you must cook the dish with a glass of sauvignon blanc on hand.
Ingredients
1kg clams
250ml olive oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 or 2 small red chillies, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
60 ml dry white wine
400g dried spaghetti
1/3 bunch chopped flatleaf parsley
Clean the clams by rinsing in cold water. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the garlic, shallots, chillies, chilli flakes and bring to the boil. Add the wine, then the clams and shut with a tight lid. Shake the pan once or twice and cook, covered, for 3-4 minutes or until all the clams are open. Turn off heat and add the spaghetti and parsley and toss well. Season well with sea salt and pepper. (I like to also add another splash of olive oil at this stage).
Serves 4