Vongole with black spaghetti and N’duja

After eating vongole everyday for a week, I came back from Vulcana in Sicily, needing to carry on the trend. This time I made it Goth with squid ink spaghetti and N'duja for a rich and spicy change.

You know when you’re asked about your dream ingredient? Or your food heaven and food hell? Mine has to be clams. I can eat them by the bucket loads as long as they are accompanied with garlic, oil and plenty of carbs to mop up all the cooking juice. Vongole is so blooming delicious if I see clams in my fishmonger I simply cannot not buy them and make it. Making a classic vongole, but melting in N’Duja or Sobresado, which is like a cured heavily spiced puree a bit like chorizo makes this dish extra spicy and porky and its fluoro orange oil soaks into the black squid ink spaghetti a treat.

Serves 4

Preparation time 20 minutes

Cooking time 15 minutes

1 kg small clams, from sustainable sources, ask your fishmonger, scrubbed clean

400 g dried black squid ink spaghetti

50ml extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

1 small dried chilli, finely chopped

150g Nd’duja or sobresado

300 ml white wine

1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

Put a pan of heavily salted water on to boil. Give the clams a good clean in very cold water to get rid of the sand and dirt off the discarding of any of them that are chipped or open. Cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions in the salted boiling water until al dente and get ready to start cooking!

Put a large pan with a lid on a high heat and let it heat up. Carefully (so not to damage any of the shells) tip the clams into the pan with a splash of water. Put the lid on and let the clams steam in their shells for 1-2 minutes or until they have all opened. Pour the clams into a sieve over a bowl to collect the cooking juices.

Now quickly wash the pan you cooked the clams in and put back on the hob over a medium heat with the extra virgin olive oil in, and then add the garlic and dried chilli. Fry for 2-3 minutes or garlic starts to colour, Add in the N’duja or Sobresada and fry until it has completely melted and is starting to get a tiny bit of colour. Pour over the white wine and then carefully pour over the clam cooking liquor being careful to hold back any sand that may have collected at the bottom of the bowl. Reduce this by half or until it has become ‘saucey’.

While it’s reducing you can remove the clams from half of the shells (discarding the shells you remove the clams from). You need the clam meat but sometimes there are way to many shells for you to be able to mix the whole thing properly. Add the clams, (shelled and not shelled) back to the sauce and give a good stir.

Drain the spaghetti, holding back about 1 tbsp of the pasta water and add it to the pan with the clams. Squeeze in the lemon and add the parsley before tossing the whole thing together thoroughly. Season with black pepper and salt if it needs it remembering the clams are very salty and serve piping hot. Don’t forget to serve with finger bowls and a bowl to put the clamshells in.