Spaghetti alle Vongole

If you want to know about Spaghetti alle Vongole, you need to start with Ippolito Cavalcanti.  He was the Duke of Buonvicino, a small town nestled in the hills of mountains of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily (now known as Calabria). The Cavalcanti were a noble family whose lineage goes back to Guido Cavalcanti, an accomplished poet in the 14th century. Guido was also the friend of another well known poet, philosopher and writer, Dante Alighieri.  

Unlike his forefather, Ippolito Cavalcanti was not a poet. Instead, he wrote a cookbook. That book is Cucina Teortico-practica. He published his cookbook in 1837; and, as it turns out, the book in some sense part-cookbook and part-history book. To be sure, there are recipes for dishes such as eggplant parmigiana and fried cod. However, the recipes provide a glimpse into the cuisine of Calabria during the early to mid 19th century. In more direct terms, those recipes document  what some people -- that is, the well to do -- were eating at that time. 

Ippolito Cavalcanti's Cookbook.

The Cucina Teortico-practica could have been relegated to the dusty bookshelves of time, but for one particular recipe: Spaghetti alle vongole. As it turns out, Ippolito Cavalcanti included the first known written recipe for that dish in his cookbook.  

Ippolito's recipe has just five ingredients: pasta, olive oil, garlic. parsley and clams. That's it. Yet, those five ingredients have become associated with an authentic spagehetti alle vongole. Those five ingredients constitute what every Calabrian envisions when served a pasta dish with clams. If you are using a recipe that calls for white wine or crushed red pepper flakes, then you are cooking a dish that is not authentic. If you add grated cheese, either during the preparation or while eating the dish, then you are destined for one of Dante Alighieri's nine circles of hell. My guess is that the circle in which you find yourself probably depends upon what kind of cheese you grate over the dish.  

There is a reason for such simplicity in the ingredients. The whole point of the dish -- its culinary raison d'etre -- is to highlight the taste of the clams.  Each briny little bite should transport the eater to the shallow waters of the Mediterranean, along the Calabrian coast, where he or she is standing knee deep in the crystal blue waters with a clam rake and a bucket.  That is quite the feat for an 18th century Duke and cookbook author whose tiny little town was more than a two-hour walk from the nearest coastline.  

Vongole Veraci.

Moreover, just any clam will do. The authentic spaghetti alle vongole is prepared with the vongole verace or "true clam." That clam is the venerupis dessiucata, which can be found in those Medditerranean waters around the ports of Calabria. Yet, unless you live in Calabria and dig out those clams yourself, you are most likely going to be using clams from some other part of the world. I try to purchase clams as locally as I can, and, the best supplier that I have found in the region where I live is Cherrystone Aqua Farms. They have both little-neck clams and middle-neck clams (as well as some excellent oysters. The general rule for choosing clams to be used in pasta recipes is the smaller the better.  Smaller clams are more tender than larger ones. They are also easier to overcook, which will defeat the purpose of using smaller clams. I used some middle-neck clams, which were probably the largest clams that I would use for this recipe. 

Now, I reach the point where I have to admit that, despite everything I have written to this point, the following recipe is not a traditional spaghetti alle vongole dish. The reason is -- gasp --  it uses white wine. While Ippolito Cavalcanti may be looking down disapprovingly at me, I figured that I could never prepare an authentic dish anyways because I was not using vongole veraci. So, I thought that a little white wine would not hurt. After all, I planned on opening a bottle to drink as I enjoyed the dish.  (One last tip: don't use Pinot Grigio, this dish requires a dry wine, like an Orvieto or Trebbiano.) 

SPAGHETTI ALLE VONGOLE

Recipe from Taste Cooking

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of vongole veraci or other small clams in their shells
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Salt

Directions:

1. Prepare the clams.  Soak the clams overnight in water and salt to clean them. Put the clams (still in their shells) in an open saute pan with a little olive oil and a clove of garlic over low-medium heat.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Stir the clams until they are all open.  Once the clams are open, add 1/2 cup of white wine, the parsley and then a second clove of thinly diced garlic.  Stir and then remove from heat. 

2. Cook the pasta.  Cook the pasta in salted water. 

3. Finish the dish.  Drain the pasta 1 minute before done and add it to the saute pan with the clams.  Turn the heat on high and let the pasta cook the last minute together with the clams and their shells.  Serve with or without shells. 

For more about spaghetti alle vongole, check out the well written posts at Taste Cooking and Phase Changes Kitchen. 

ENJOY!