# Spaghetti alla vongole



## nicklord1 (Oct 26, 2007)

Hello i never cooked clams before   i am going to  cook them in the water and wine  for 8 minutes and any  that dont open i discard is this correct. If they open a little is that good enough . Equally  is 1kg  with shells  a good enough weight between 4.

Thank you


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## pdswife (Oct 26, 2007)

I'd steam them instead of boiling them in the water and wine... 
and then dip them in garlic butter.  Oh so yummy!


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## Chefellas (Oct 26, 2007)

Hi nicklord1-I don't know what clams you're using, so you might want to consider finding out approximately how many clams are in a kilo and adjust your servings that way. What I dois this: I scrub the clams with a brush under running water to get rid of the snad on the shells. Then I leave them in water to I've added some flour. This gives the clams an internal cleansing. Next in a pot big enough to hold the clams, I'll heat some olive oil and saute chopped onion and garlic, Then I add white wine, boil for a minute, add the clams and cover the pot,shaking the pot every now and then.That way the clams steam with the onion, garlic and the wine. Then I check for clams that haven't opened, throw them away, and sprinkle the clams with chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper. I have my spaghetti, boiled al dente and I mix it into the clams. Bon Appetit!!


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## justplainbill (Oct 26, 2007)

The vongole I used to eat in the Livorno area of Italy were about 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter and each portion of spaghetti con vongole had about 13 to 25 vongole.


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## nicklord1 (Oct 26, 2007)

But generally any clams that arent open  you throw away and it should take 5 minutes to cook them  , i dont want to  poision my  guests . These will be super market clams so i guess i dont have to clean the sand from them  as  stated in my cook book.

I have never had clams how  do they  compare to scallops which i love


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## GotGarlic (Oct 26, 2007)

nicklord1 said:


> But generally any clams that arent open  you throw away and it should take 5 minutes to cook them  , i dont want to  poision my  guests . These will be super market clams so i guess i dont have to clean the sand from them  as  stated in my cook book.
> 
> I have never had clams how  do they  compare to scallops which i love



To my taste, clams are rather bland, but they pick up the cooking flavors well. They're not sweet like scallops, which I also love


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## *amy* (Oct 26, 2007)

nicklord1 said:


> Hello i never cooked clams before i am going to cook them in the water and wine for 8 minutes and any that dont open i discard is this correct. If they open a little is that good enough . Equally is 1kg with shells a good enough weight between 4.
> 
> Thank you


 
I would disgard any that don't open. Can't help with the measurements - but here's an example of a recipe where you can cook the pasta and clams together & cooking time. Hope that helps.

Toasted Spaghetti with Clams


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## nicklord1 (Oct 26, 2007)

Thank you for the  recipe i think i am going ot have to give it a go , do i have to clean the clams or just cook it in the water and the wine as said.  I am cooking this dish next week with a mussel soup  a bit of seafood overload i know but  i hope it will turn out well.

Next week i am  doing  scallops  staint jacques with  chicken breast in a leak , veal stock , wine sauce for the entre.  Also  baking a choclate and pear  cake in the week . I am working from home for a bit so i thought i got all these cook books it will be ashame not to give these dishes ago. I will tell you all how they turned out.

Thank you


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## *amy* (Oct 26, 2007)

nicklord1 said:


> Thank you for the recipe i think i am going ot have to give it a go , do i have to clean the clams or just cook it in the water and the wine as said. I am cooking this dish next week with a mussel soup a bit of seafood overload i know but i hope it will turn out well.
> 
> Next week i am doing scallops staint jacques with chicken breast in a leak , veal stock , wine sauce for the entre. Also baking a choclate and pear cake in the week . I am working from home for a bit so i thought i got all these cook books it will be ashame not to give these dishes ago. I will tell you all how they turned out.
> 
> Thank you


 
What time is dinner?  It's been awhile, but I've steamed the clams disgarding any that are open - prior to cooking. I would clean the clams first - and re the recipe, perhaps you could do a combo of the broth and wine & herbs of choice. Let us know how it turns out.


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## nicklord1 (Oct 26, 2007)

Heres is the first step scrub the clams under cold running  water to remove all sand and grit . Discard any that do no not close when tapped. Put the clams into a saucepan , add the wine cover and cok for 5m inutes , strain , reserving the liquid . Remove the clams from their shells ,  discard any that have not opened and leaving a few in their half shells for garnish.

Now will clams  open when i am cleaning and  close when i tapp them  i kinda confused    u discard those that do not close then those which do not open.


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## ChefJune (Oct 26, 2007)

Chefellas said:


> Hi nicklord1-I don't know what clams you're using, so you might want to consider finding out approximately how many clams are in a kilo and adjust your servings that way. What I dois this: I scrub the clams with a brush under running water to get rid of the snad on the shells. Then I leave them in water to I've added some flour. This gives the clams an internal cleansing. Next in a pot big enough to hold the clams, I'll heat some olive oil and saute chopped onion and garlic, Then I add white wine, boil for a minute, add the clams and cover the pot,shaking the pot every now and then.That way the clams steam with the onion, garlic and the wine. Then I check for clams that haven't opened, throw them away, and sprinkle the clams with chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper. I have my spaghetti, boiled al dente and I mix it into the clams. Bon Appetit!!


I just had lunch, and you're making me hungry Chefellas!

I may have to make that for dinner tonight.


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## justplainbill (Oct 26, 2007)

nicklord1 said:


> Heres is the first step scrub the clams under cold running water to remove all sand and grit . Discard any that do no not close when tapped. Put the clams into a saucepan , add the wine cover and cok for 5m inutes , strain , reserving the liquid . Remove the clams from their shells , discard any that have not opened and leaving a few in their half shells for garnish.
> 
> Now will clams open when i am cleaning and close when i tapp them i kinda confused u discard those that do not close then those which do not open.


Healthy live hard clams should not open when they are being scrubbed.


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## nicklord1 (Oct 26, 2007)

shall  i just pay attention to the ones that dont open when cooked after say 5 minutes . If they dont open  what does it mean.


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## justplainbill (Oct 26, 2007)

Cooking time can be a function of the size of the clams, quantity of liquid relative to the quantity of clams and time to come back up to heat after clams are added to pot.  Five dozen SMALL clams (vongole or little neck quahogs) cooked in covered pot with a scant quart of boiling liquid should be cooked and open after 5 - 8 minutes.  I'd suggest checking after 6 minutes, removing open clams, covering and continuing to cook remaining clams for another 3 minutes; after which I'd discard any that haven't opened. 

BTW the clams should release a noticeable amount of liquor which enhances the broth / cooking liquid served over the spaghetti.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 26, 2007)

nicklord1 said:


> shall  i just pay attention to the ones that dont open when cooked after say 5 minutes . If they dont open  what does it mean.



If they don't open, they're dead, which means they're not fresh and they could harbor bacteria which can make you sick.


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## auntdot (Oct 26, 2007)

-Actually you are close to clams meuniere.  One of my favorite ways to make mussles is meuniere. But clams work well too.  Just Google for recipes.


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## nicklord1 (Oct 26, 2007)

This might sound dumb but  if they dont open how do you eat themin order to get ill. Plus how open do they have to be  because when i cook mussels  there are  different degrees of  openess. Is it the same thing with mussels  that dont open  , that they  have died and containt bacteria.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 26, 2007)

Some people might try to shuck them (open the shell with a knife), like you do with raw oysters; this is why people are warned, in all the recipes I've seen, to eat only the ones that open after cooking.

Before cooking them, tap any open ones with a knife or something - they should close tightly. They have to use the muscle attached to the hinge in order to close, so this is how you know they're alive; any that don't close should be discarded. After cooking, any that have opened at all are safe. If they're not completely open, you can use a shellfish fork or other utensil to open them and pull out the meat.

Yes, it's the same with all shellfish in the shell.


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## nicklord1 (Oct 26, 2007)

so if they are open a bit its ok  and if they are  closed before cooking and opened after thats ok too.

Thanks


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## TATTRAT (Oct 27, 2007)

Here man, try this. Hot pan, oil(olive), garlic, crushed red pepper, pinch of oregano, and a few capers, lightly brown garlic, add clams, toss, add 3oz whine and 1ounce pasta water, cover. Just let it simmer away covered. Wait for your pasta to be about a minute from being done and remove lid off  the pan, add in pasta, and let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce. Let the pot liquor reduce a little more to your liking, add some fresh chopped parsley and a little more olive oil, toss, DONE. 8min flat.

Any of the little buggers that didn't open up nice, just pitch 'em. Not even WORTH risking any kind of illness. Not to mention, there is a reason your nose is above your mouth, if there IS a bad one, you WILL know before it hits your tounge.

Always add more clams then you think you will need just in case you do have one, then you can accommodate for it.


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## nicklord1 (Oct 28, 2007)

I was thinking of add  vongole  sauce to fruits of the mer  and then adding pasta what do you guys think


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## Chefellas (Oct 28, 2007)

Sounds good to me nicklord1.Clams are included in most mixed shellfish recipes so white sauce or red sauce,it will work out fine. If the vongole are really small add them during the last 2 minutes. You wouldn't want them to shrivel up and overcook.


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## ChefJune (Oct 28, 2007)

nicklord1 said:


> I was thinking of add  vongole  sauce to fruits of the mer  and then adding pasta what do you guys think



well, Vongole is just CLAMS in Italian, and clams are very much part of Fruit de mer, which is just "mixed seafood" in French... so clams are already part of that mix....

over pasta?  sounds good to me! kinda sounds like zuppa di pesce to me.  Go for it!


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## nicklord1 (Oct 28, 2007)

i need to make up for a weak  canneloni  . I knew it lacked a tomatoe sauce but i went with the recipe . Do any of you know if you can add a tomatoey sauce to canneloni  to  supersede the blande but creamy  bechamel sauce and how you do it  . Thank you


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## ChefJune (Oct 28, 2007)

How about adding some seasoning to the bechamel?  Maybe some chopped fresh herbs?  or an extra pinch of salt?  I find lots of recipes undersalted these days. So many folks are afraid to add a bit, and it does so much to enhance the flavor when added while cooking!


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## nicklord1 (Oct 28, 2007)

I put nutmeg in  , i just wanted a rich tomatey sauce  to blend with the bechamel but i followed the recipe  against my reservations


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## Rom (Oct 28, 2007)

Thanks for reminding me of my mum's pasta with vongole ...don't remember how she made with but it was a tomato sauce one...but YUM..haven't had it for so long...might have to go visit her with some LOL


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## Chefellas (Oct 29, 2007)

I agree with ChefJune about adding extra seasoning to the Bechamel. However if you really want tomato sauce with the cannelloni.make the sauce a little thicker than usual, add lots of herbs and seasoning. you might put a layer of bechamel under the cannelloni and put the tomato sauce on top of the cannelloni. Then on top of the tomato sauce you could decoratively drizzle some more bechamel.The two sauces go well with each other.


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