Fregola with clams

17/11/2023

Fregola with clams is a typical Sardinian dish that combines toasted semolina pasta, called fregola, with delicious shellfish known as clams or vongole veraci. Here is a simple but tasty version of this recipe that can be prepared with readily available ingredients.

Ingredients

400 g of Sardinian fregola
1 kg of clams (vongole veraci)
2 cloves of garlic
Chopped parsley to taste
1/2 glass of white wine
400 g of peeled tomatoes or fresh cherry tomatoes
Fish or vegetable broth to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Begin by thoroughly cleaning the clams, leaving them in salted water for at least an hour so they can purge the sand.
In a large pan, sauté the garlic cloves with the extra virgin olive oil, then remove them as soon as they brown.
Add the clams to the pan and let them open over high heat, deglazing with the white wine.
Once the clams have opened, remove most of the shellfish from their shells, keeping some whole for the final decoration of the dish.
Add the peeled or chopped cherry tomatoes to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, cook the fregola in plenty of salted water following the package directions, or if you prefer, you can cook it directly in the clam sauce by adding a little fish or vegetable broth gradually until fully cooked.
Combine the fregola with the clam sauce, season with salt and pepper and let it all flavor for a few minutes.
Before serving, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and garnish with the whole clams set aside.

Fregola with clams is a sea-flavored dish that is perfect for special occasions but also for a casual dinner with friends. To accompany this dish, a glass of fresh white wine is recommended, perhaps a Vermentino from Sardinia to enhance the flavors of this delicious dish even further.

This is the basic version of the recipe, but as a true lover of Italian cuisine, I encourage you to play with the ingredients at your disposal to personalize the dish according to your tastes.