¼ cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
¼ cup white wine
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp chilli flakes
1kg pot-ready clams/vongole
2 tbsp lemon juice
400g spaghetti
40g butter
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 cup bottarga, finely grated
To Serve: fresh lemon and crusty bread
1 Heat olive oil in a large deep-sided frying pan with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Add wine, lemon zest, chilli and clams and cook covered for another 6-8 minutes or until all clams are open. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2 Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain in a colander.
3 Add butter, parsley and pasta to clams and toss to combine. Pour into a bowl and generously sprinkle with bottarga. Serve with fresh lemon and crusty bread.
While matching a bright Italianate white would work, a dry rosé is my preference. An Etna rosato would be an easy choice but the extra power and savoury profile of the corvina and molinara grapes used to make this rosato lift the culinary match to a higher plane. The salty bottarga (cured roe) and the saline-infused clams are swiftly dealt with by the rosato with its whisper of tannins sealing the partnership.