Clams Marzocca di Senigallia

This recipe came out of Food and Wine magazine several years ago. They called it Toasted Spaghetti with Clams. We found it delicious, and easy. It's a meal in 30 or so minutes. We served it with toasted Chiabata slices topped with sliced Compari tomato's and Parmesan Cheese. The flavor was exactly as described.

Ferran Adrià credits the idea for this dish to one of his acolytes, Moreno Cedroni, the hyper-creative Italian chef at La Madonnina del Pescatore in Italy's Marzocca di Senigallia. The method is very similar to risotto, but spaghetti fills in for the arborio rice: Adrià toasts it in a pan with a little oil, then adds hot clam juice until the pasta is fully cooked and loaded with briny flavor.

• TOTAL TIME: 25 MIN
• SERVINGS: 4
• FAST
• HEALTHY

INGREDIENTS

 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
 3/4 pound spaghetti, broken into 2-inch lengths

 2 garlic cloves, minced
 Crushed red pepper
 3 cups bottled clam broth                                                                                 
 1 cup water
 3 dozen littleneck clams, rinsed
 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

     In a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the spaghetti and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and a large pinch of crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the clam broth and water and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and cook over moderate heat until the pasta is barely al dente, about 8 minutes. Nestle the clams into the pasta, cover and cook until the pasta is al dente and the clams open, about 7 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water if the pasta is too dry. Stir in the parsley and serve. (I used slivered slices of scallion)