'Nduja and Squid Ink Vongole Recipe

by Rosie Birkett
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2
45 minutes

Ingredients

Squid ink spaghetti

  • 150g of 00 flour
  • 1 pinch of sea salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 5g of squid ink
  • semolina flour for dusting, for dusting

'Nduja vongole

  • 400g of clams, cleaned and kept in a bowl in the fridge covered with a damp tea towel
  • 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
  • 1 banana shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, large, crushed
  • 50g of 'nduja, coating discarded
  • 50ml of dry white wine
  • 30g of flat-leaf parsley, stems and leaves, washed and finely chopped
  • 1/2 unwaxed lemon, grated zest and juice of
  • sea salt

Method

1
Start with the spaghetti. Prep the work surface by dusting with a little flour and having a small bowl of water at the ready. In a large bowl, sieve in the flour and salt then make a well in the centre and add in the eggs and squid ink. Use a table knife to start bringing the mix together, then your hands to form a dough
2
Transfer the dough to the floured surface and start to knead (wetting your fingers in the bowl of water will help). After 5-10 minutes the dough should be soft, smooth and springy. Cut in half, wrap separately in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour
3
Set up a pasta machine on the widest setting. Unwrap the chilled dough and roll out one portion to fit the machine. Run the dough through the pasta machine no more than 8 times, reducing the thickness settings until the third thinnest is reached. Set this sheet aside on the floured surface while repeating with the second portion of dough
4
Attach the spaghetti cutter to the pasta machine. Cut each strip in half (approx. 15-20cm long) and run through to make spaghetti (if you don’t have the attachment, fold the pasta sheets in half and cut thinly with a sharp knife). Dust the strands with semolina flour and leave to chill and dry out on a baking sheet for 3 hours or more, until ready to cook
5
For the vongole sauce, run the clams under cold water for up to 10 minutes to help remove any grit. Fill a large pan with water and season liberally with salt, bring this to the boil
6
Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon of oil to a heavy frying pan and soften the garlic and shallot, before adding the 'nduja. Cook this until all incorporated and set aside
7
Add the squid ink spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, drain and reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooking water
8
Put the nduja pan back on to heat through and add the drained clams. Pour in the white wine and mix everything together before covering with a lid. After a few minutes check that all the clams have opened up and the liquid has mostly cooked off (any clams that still haven’t opened should be discarded)
9
Mix in the cooked spaghetti, reserved pasta water and parsley, then place in a large serving bowl. Stir through the lemon zest and juice and a drizzle of olive oil before serving (you may want a spare bowl to discard empty shells)