This is the food of the gods and needs no explaining as to how good it is. It’s perfect for  a stress-free Valentine’s dinner or a date night as it only take as long as the pasta takes to cook.

When I’ve been to Venice I practically live on it as it really is my favourite thing and I can’t get enough of it. It can be made in under 20 minutes and the ingredients can be bought days in advance. This recipe is an original Venetian recipe which I always love to cook, as it is like a lot of Italian recipes, very simple. There are two sorts of Vongole, in bianco, which is made like this recipe, or in rosso which is made with tomatoes. When I make it everyone goes mad for it… so try it, it’s not expensive and it is quick and easy.

Recipe

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
500g box of frozen clams (I get them from Waitrose for approx £3.59 from The Big Prawn Company) or use fresh from the fishmonger if you prefer
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
a bunch of flat leaf parsley finely chopped
half a red chilli very finely chopped
1 lemon zest and juice
three tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter (optional)
500g spaghetti or linguine
1 cup of white wine or two tablespoons of vermouth
Salt and pepper

How:
Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet.
While it is cooking, gently in a large pan, fry the chilli and garlic in the butter, if using, and olive oil. Then add the wine or Vermouth and cook till reduced by half.
Add the clams and warm through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the drained spaghetti with the parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Serve straight away from the pan.

Lastly, this recipe is an impressive dinner party main course, just double or triple the amount depending on how many guests. I would serve this with a simple green salad, and as a dessert, one of my sorbets: I have different sorbets recipes, you will find them on the search engine of this blog.