Linguine alle Vongole

Clams opened in white wine, garlic softened in good oil, and linguine pulled from the pan still glossy.

• Linguine, cooked just short of al dente.
• Clams in the shell, opened in the pan.
• Dry white wine, reduced down to nothing.
• Garlic, sliced thin and barely coloured.
• Flat-leaf parsley, chopped at the end.

The pasta finishes in the clam liquor with a little of the cooking water, tossed hard so the sauce clings instead of pooling. Nothing else goes in. No cream, no tomato, no cheese on top. It is the classic version, and it lives or dies on timing, so it goes out the moment the last clam opens. Contains: gluten, shellfish.