Scialatielli con Vongole e Cicerchie

By LeeBoruchow

I am very proud of this recipe. It is my recreation of a pasta dish that I had at Da Gemma in Amalfi, and it is spot on. The scialatielle is very rustic, and is intended to be pretty thick. True cicerchie (a strange dried legume) is essential for this, and unfortunately there really isn’t a good substitute.

Ingredients

• Scialatielli:
• 1 recipe scialatielle
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (in oil), sliced into 1/4" ribbons
• 1/2 cup cooked cicerchie
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup white wine from Campania (Fiano di Avellino works well)
• 1.5 lbs small clams or cockles
• 4 cups cake flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

To make the pasta:
Using the well method, combine the eggs/milk/cheese with the flour. Kneed for 10 minutes and allow to rest, covered, for 15 minutes.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll a piece through the pasta machine at the thickest setting, then fold in half and run it through again. Do this 3 times total. Move to the next thinnest setting and run the pasta through. Move to the next thinnest setting and run the pasta through, and stop -- the pasta will be quite thick. Lay the pasta sheet on a dusted wooden board and cut accross into 1/3" strips. Lay the strips on a baking sheet dusted with semolina flour, covered with a dish towel. Repeat for the rest of the pasta dough.

To make the rest of the dish:
Soak cicerchie overnight in cold water. Drain and add to a pot with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, then drain and cool. Peel the cicerchie if needed.

In a saucepan with high sides, heat oil. Add garlic and tomatoes and saute until garlic is light golden brown. Add clams and white wine. Cover and cook until the clams open.

Remove clams to a bowl. Add the cicerchie and reduce the sauce until slightly thick.

Drop pasta into copiously salted boiling water and cook for 3 minutes until al dente. Drain pasta and add to the pan. Add parsley and toss until combined. Transfer to a serving bowl and add the clams to the top. Drizzle with more oil.