Minestra e cocciula
Vongole soup
ingredients
Serves 4
1 kg small Vongole (cleaned as described in starters – clams)
250g Fregula (see ingredients)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
6 sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
A bunch of parsley, finely chopped
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
method
Before you begin you must clean the clams of any sand or grit. The only
way to do this is to make the clams feel at home and therefore open up
and release any sand that they may have inside their shells. Take a large
pan fill it with slightly salty water and put it in the fridge (You are
trying to recreate the environment of the sea!) and leave the clams to
soak. The longer you can leave the clams the better (2 – 3 hours
is ideal) as you will be sure to have removed as much sand as possible.
Once cleaned remove the clams form the water and place in a large pan
with a little water and cook over a low heat until they open. Remove three
quarters of the vongole from their shells leaving the rest intact to garnish
the soup. Pass the liquid that is left in the pan through a sieve and
set to one side.
In another pan heat 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil and over a medium heat
fry the onions add the crushed garlic and then the parsley followed by
the chopped sun dried tomatoes. Turn down the heat, add the vongole and
fold gently together in the pan for about five minutes. Now add the liquid
that the vongole cooked in season with salt and add a little more hot
water (the amount of water you add is up to you and relates to the thickness
of the soup, do bare in mind that the pasta will suck up a fair bit of
liquid) When the soup starts to boil add the Fregula and cook until al
dente. Serve with fresh chopped parsley and a dribble of extra virgin
olive oil.