Spaghetti with vongole clam sauce

When we first moved into our sea side pad my mom came up for a visit and brought us some housewarming gifts. One of which was this cookbook, The Beach House Cookbook, which not only has beautiful pictures but actually has manageable recipes.

The book had been on display in our kitchen for a couple of weeks before I finally decided to give one of the recipes a shot, so one Friday night I prepared the Spaghetti with vongole clam sauce, the dish just happened to be one of the recipes featured on the cover so I was hoping mine would end up looking the same, and it did. Not only was this a great meal on the eyes, but also on the stomach it was incredibly delicious and full of flavor!

Spaghetti with vongole clam sauce

• 3 strips bacon
• 1 pound of spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 - 2 pounds vongole, manila, or littleneck clams, scrubbed and rinsed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• freshly ground black pepper

Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet until crisp. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels, leaving the drippings in the pan. When cool to the touch crumble the bacon.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente.

Meanwhile, add the olive oil to the bacon drippings and heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until softened and golden, about 7 minutes. Add the clams, wine, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat to hgh and cover and cook until all the clams are open, 3-5 minutes. Throw out any clams that did not open, this means they were dead.

Drain the pasta and return it the pot. Add the clam sauce, parsley, and reserved bacon to the pasta and toss well. Season with pepper and serve!

Sign of a job well done, everything was devoured, including every last clam!