The Sardinian Kitchen

Fregola with clams

I am really excited to post my second recipe from “The Sardinian Kitchen” series that I have recently created and tested for you.

When I think about food for celebration from home, I think about seafood. Now more than ever as it is not that easy to find good fresh seafood and also so expensive in London. So eating clams is really a treat reserved to special occasions.

Make sure you place the clams in a bowl with water as soon as you can. This will allow the clams to open and clean from any sand they might have.

Fregola is a special type of Sardinian pasta made with semolina flour and water. You can buy it online or if you have a deli near you then they might have it. If you want to prepare everything from scratch then follow my previous recipe for Fregola.

Feel free to write if you have any questions or to let me know how you get on!

INGREDIENTS

500g fresh clams

20ml olive oil

1 garlic clove

10g parsley

1 chilli

100ml white wine

400g plum peeled tomatoes

1 tsp salt

150g fregola

A bunch of fresh parsley to serve.

INSTRUCTIONS

The first thing to do as soon as you buy the clams, is to place them in water for a couple of hours. This is done to help the clams release all the sand. Also if there are any open clams, lightly tap them to the side of the sink. If they do not close, discard them.

Now peel the garlic clove and chop it really finely. Slice the parsley in a half along the long side. If you are not a big fan of spicy food, remove it from the recipe.

In a large pan heat up the oil with the garlic, parsley and chilli for 2 minutes. In the meantime, drain the clams and rinse them under the tap.

Add them into the pan. Bring the flames to a medium heat and place the lid on.

Shake the pan a few times to help the clams to open. Mine started to open after just 4 minutes and were all open within 6 minutes.

If you find any stubborn clams that do not want to open, then wait an extra minute for them to open. Avoid opening them with a knife but just discard them instead if they stay closed.

Now add in the white wine and wait for it to be completely evaporated.

Add in the fregola and 200ml of boiling water.

Cook for 5 minutes then add in the tomato sauce and season to taste.

My advice is to follow the instructions on the package to have a rough idea of the cooking times of your fregola. Although as timings on packages are not always accurate, by tasting it you will make sure that it is perfectly cooked. Mine was ready in about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle some fresh parsley on the top before serving.

Buon appetito!