Fregola with Clams

Ingredients

• 320 g Fregola
• 1 kg Clams
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 bunch Parsley
• 2 Tomato
• 100 ml White wine
• 4 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 800 ml Vegetable broth
• 1 pinch Saffron
• 1 to taste Salt

Steps

1. Purge the clams: soak them in cold salted water for 1–2 hours so they release their sand.
2. Rinse under running water and discard any that stay open.
3. In a wide pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil with a peeled garlic clove.
4. Add the clams, raise the heat, pour in the white wine and cover.
5. Cook 3–4 minutes, shaking the pan, until they open.
6. Lift out the clams.
7. Strain their cooking liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove any grit and set it aside.
8. Shell most of the clams, keeping a few in the shell for garnish.
9. Wipe out the pan, add fresh olive oil, the second garlic clove and the chopped parsley stems, and gently fry until fragrant.
10. Add the grated fresh tomato (or passata) and a pinch of salt.
11. Let it cook down for a few minutes until it loses its raw acidity.
12. Tip in the fregola and toast it for a minute, stirring so every grain is coated.
13. Begin adding the strained clam liquid a ladle at a time, then the hot vegetable broth, stirring often as if making a risotto.
14. Keep it loose and brothy.
15. If using saffron, dissolve it in a little warm broth and stir it in halfway through cooking.
16. After about 12–14 minutes the fregola should be al dente and creamy.
17. Return the shelled clams (and the reserved ones in shell) to warm through for 1 minute.
18. Turn off the heat and finish with a thread of raw olive oil and the chopped parsley leaves.
19. Serve at once, while still moist.

Tips

• Always filter the clam liquid — it is the soul of the dish but carries sand. Use authentic Sardinian fregola (the toasted semolina kind), not couscous, and keep the texture brothy rather than dry, finishing the cooking in the pan like a risotto.