GEOFF’s Spaghetti or Linguine Alle Vongole…
⏱️ Enjoy with your favourite beverage | 5 min read
We ate vongole in La Spezia in 2024 – a simple bowl, white wine broth, bread on the side. I came home thinking about it for weeks. The version I cook now uses Coffin Bay vongole from Myers Seafood in Port Lincoln, hand-raked and supplied through Fair Seafood. They come in a cryovac bag and don’t need purging, so the cooking liquid they release is all sea – nothing diluted. Drain, rinse, and they’re ready. The method from there is straightforward: garlic, parsley, olive oil, pasta water, and the liquid the vongole release as they open. That briny, faintly sweet cooking liquid is the sauce. I don’t add cream or stock. The vongole do all the work.
GEOFF’s Spaghetti or Linguine Alle Vongole…
We ate vongole in La Spezia in 2024 – a simple bowl, white wine broth, bread on the side. I came home thinking about it for weeks. The version I cook now uses Coffin Bay vongole from Myers Seafood in Port Lincoln, hand-raked and supplied through Fair Seafood. They come in a cryovac bag and don’t need purging, so the cooking liquid they release is all sea – nothing diluted. Drain, rinse, and they’re ready
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- 1. Prepare the vongole. Drain the bag, rinse the vongole briefly under cold running water, and they’re ready. Discard any with broken shells.2. Bring the pasta water to the boil.Fill a large pot with water, add a generous handful of rock salt, and bring to a rapid boil on induction setting 9 (gas high flame). Once boiling, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Rustichella d’Abruzzo spaghetti or linguini typically takes 9-11 minutes for a firm al dente. Before draining, reserve some the pasta water.3. Build the base.Pour120ml of extra virgin olive oil into a large, wide, heavy-based pan or sauté pan on induction setting 4 (gas low-medium flame). Add the garlic and half the chopped parsley. Cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the garlic softens and the oil is fragrant – don’t let it colour.4. Add the vongole.Tip the drained vongole into the pan and toss to coat in the oil, garlic, and parsley. If using cherry tomatoes, add them now. Increase to induction setting 5-6 (gas medium flame). Add a small ladle of the reserved pasta water or a couple of cubes of Geoff’s frozen fish stock melted in a little hot water for added depth and a pinch of sea salt. Cover with a lid.5. Cook until open.Steam the vongole for 4-6 minutes. You’ll hear them opening and clattering against the lid. When the noise settles and most are open, they’re done. Any that haven’t opened are fine to eat provided they still smell fresh – prise them open rather than discarding.6. Strain and rest.Remove the lid, give the vongole a stir, then tip the contents through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl. Catch every drop of that liquid – it’s the sauce. Set the vongole and strained liquid aside.7. Build the sauce.Wipe the pan clean to remove any grit, then return it to induction setting 4 (gas low-medium flame). Pour the strained vongole liquid back in. Squeeze in the juice of one lemon, catching the pips. Stir gently and let it reduce for one minute.8. Combine pasta and sauce.Use tongs to transfer the cooked spaghetti directly from the pot into the pan – don’t drain it completely, a little pasta water dragged along helps emulsify. Toss briskly over the heat, adding splashes of reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce coats every strand.9. Return the vongole and finish.Add the vongole back to the pan and squeeze in the second lemon. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, scatter the remaining parsley, and toss everything together for 30 seconds. Taste for salt and adjust.
Nutrition
Notes
Suggested Serving:
- Serve immediately on a large warmed platter or in wide, shallow bowls.
- Have crusty ciabatta or baguette at the table to mop up the sauce – it’s too good to leave.
- A dry, unoaked Vermentino or Clare Valley Riesling works well alongside the brininess of the vongole.
- Crack black pepper generously at the table. A wedge of extra lemon on the side is not optional.
Notes:
- Vongole:Coffin Bay vongole are available from Myers Seafood in Port Lincoln – a family-owned operation supplying vongole hand-raked from Coffin Bay and the West Coast, available through Fair Seafood. They come in a cryovac bag and don’t require purging, which means they retain full sea flavour. Drain, rinse, and cook. Two packets (1000gm) is the practical buy for six and there’s little point storing half a packet.
- Pasta:Rustichella d’Abruzzo spaghetti holds up to the tossing process better than most. Linguine is a natural alternative. Don’t use a fresh pasta here – the sauce needs the starch from a dried egg-free pasta to emulsify properly.
- Cherry tomatoes:Optional but worth adding in season – they collapse into the sauce and add a slight acidity that cuts the richness of the oil.
- White wine version:Replace the initial ladle of pasta water with 100ml of dry white wine (a Clare Valley Riesling works). Add it after the vongole go in and let it reduce by half before covering.
- Fish stock:A couple of cubes of frozen fish stock melted into a little hot water and added with the vongole lifts the depth of the sauce noticeably. Use it in place of the pasta water ladle at that stage. See GEOFF’s Fish Stock in the recipe collection.
- Scaling:This recipe is written for 6. For 4, one 500gm packet of vongole is plenty – pasta stays at 60-70gm per person regardless of serve size. Less vongole liquid means you may need a touch more salt.
- Sustainable sourcing:Coffin Bay vongole are hand-raked from clean, cold waters on South Australia’s West Coast and supplied through Fair Seafood via Myers Seafood in Port Lincoln. Traceability from boat to kitchen is built into the supply chain.
- Leftovers keep for 1-2 days in a sealed glass container (400-500gm serves 2). The pasta will absorb the sauce as it sits, so add a splash of water when reheating.
- Miele Steam Oven:100% steam, 90°C, 6-8 minutes on shelf position 2.
- Not recommended. The vongole toughen on freezing and the pasta loses its texture.
