CLAMS C A RBONAR A
INGREDIENTS
1.1kg littleneck clams, cleaned Sea salt 60ml extra-virgin olive oil 115g pancetta, minced 90ml dry white wine 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 450g linguine 122g grated Parmesan cheese 1 medium egg 3 egg yolks Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish
METHOD
1 Put the clams in a large bowl and cover with 5cm of very cold water. Let them sit for 1 hour to make sure they are grit- and sand-free. (Most clams have already been cleaned, so this is just insurance.) Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
2 Meanwhile, in a large frying pan or skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned (about 3 minutes).
3 Add the clams, wine and pepper and increase the heat to high. Cover and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the clams open. Discard any that haven’t opened after 10 minutes. While they’re cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the instructions until al dente.
4 Use tongs to transfer the clams to a medium bowl and set aside. Scrape the contents of the pan into a large bowl. Whisk in 100g of the Parmesan, the egg, and the egg yolks until smooth.
5 Drain the pasta in a colander and add it to the Parmesan-egg mixture. Quickly toss to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the clams into the pasta.
6Transfer the clams and pasta to a large serving dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and parsley. Serve immediately.