Spaghetti con vongole and parmigiano 

Yes, you got it right, the much reviled Parmesan cheese on spaghetti with clams for which so many times we have beaten unsuspecting tourists who asked for it at the restaurant. But it doesn't end there. The recipe for traditional spaghetti with clams includes a sauté of garlic, onions, carrots, celery and... soaked dried mushrooms! I decided to remake the recipe at home. Spaghetti clams and parmesan are a tasty first course of seafood made creamy by a delicate parmesan cream. A practical and quick recipe to show off even for important occasions. I love to make a good impression with little effort and this pasta recipe has often been useful in case of lunches and dinners with friends and relatives.

Ingredients

350 g spaghetti 

300 g clams 

1 garlic clove

4 chili peppers

olive oil

4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (grated)

salt

chopped parsley

Preparation

Wash the clams well under running water so that they lose the sand contained inside. Coarsely chop the chili, toast it in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and keep them aside. Fry the garlic in a large pan with olive oil and then remove it. In the pan with the oil add the clams and let them open: as they open remove them from the pan and set them aside. Keep aside clams, they will serve for decoration. Instead, from the remaining clams remove at least the empty ones they will be used to season the pasta. Boil the pasta in salted water and drain it al dente. Keep aside a little cooking water of the pasta. Sauté the spaghetti in the sauce pan adding a little pasta cooking water, grated Parmesan and only at the end, the clams. Bring to the table the spaghetti with creamy clams and serve garnishing with clams kept aside and crumbled chili. Finish with chopped fresh parsley to taste.