Paraben Free Spaghetti alle Vongole
Few dishes capture the soul of coastal Italian cooking quite like this briny, garlicky pasta — tender clams nestled in a silky, wine-kissed sauce that clings to every strand of spaghetti. The beauty here is in the simplicity: fresh littleneck clams, good olive oil, dry white wine, garlic, and a handful of flat-leaf parsley are all it takes to build something that tastes genuinely restaurant-worthy. For anyone navigating paraben-free eating, this recipe is a natural fit because every ingredient is whole and unprocessed — no jarred sauces, no packaged seasoning blends, no preservative-laden shortcuts that can sneak synthetic compounds onto your plate. The technique of finishing the pasta directly in the clam cooking liquid is what makes the sauce so cohesive and deeply flavored, with reserved pasta water helping everything emulsify into something glossy and light. A final drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon lift the whole dish at the very end. It's the kind of weeknight dinner that feels like a special occasion without requiring much more than a big skillet and a little attention.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 2 lb littleneck clams (about 24 clams), scrubbed
- 1 lb spaghetti
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup dry white wine (such as pinot grigio or vermentino)
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- salt
For serving
- lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Place the scrubbed clams in a large bowl of cold salted water and let them soak for 30 minutes to purge any sand. Drain and rinse well.
- 2
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until 2 minutes shy of al dente — the pasta should still have a firm, chalky center. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the spaghetti.
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