The clam liquor is the starting point for the cooking liquid. Fregula, also written fregola, gives the dish a toasted grain-like texture while remaining a pasta made from semolina.
Recipe at a glance
Serves4
Prep20 minutes, plus any preparation advised by the fishmonger
CookAbout 25 minutes
SkillMedium
Ingredients
- 300 g fregula sarda
- 1 kg live clams, prepared as advised by your fishmonger
- 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 garlic cloves
- 100 ml dry white wine
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little to finish
- A small handful of parsley, chopped
- About 700 ml hot water available; use only as needed
- A small pinch of saffron or chilli, optional
- Salt, after tasting the clam liquor
Before cooking
Buy live clams from a reliable fishmonger and keep them refrigerated. Follow the seller’s preparation advice. Discard broken shells and live clams that do not close when tapped; after thorough cooking, discard those that remain closed.
Sizes and cooking times of fregula vary. Keep hot water ready and use the packet as a starting point, tasting the pasta as it cooks.
Method
- Open the clams. Put the prepared clams in a wide pan with one garlic clove and the wine. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until they open and are cooked. Remove the opened clams; discard any that remain closed.
- Filter the liquid. Pass the clam liquor through a very fine sieve lined with a clean filtering cloth. Keep the filtered liquid. Remove about half the clams from their shells.
- Start the base. In a clean pan, warm the oil with the other garlic clove and optional chilli. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Cook the pasta. Add fregula and the filtered clam liquid. Add hot water in portions, stirring and keeping the pasta gently simmering. Cook until tender with a little bite, adding only the water it needs.
- Return the clams. Add shelled clams and the remaining clams in their shells for the final minute, so they are heated through.
- Finish. Taste before salting. Add parsley and a small drizzle of oil. Serve while the texture is still pleasantly brothy.
The technique that matters
Filter before adding the liquid to the pasta. Clam flavour is welcome; sand is not. Use hot water to control the cooking texture rather than replacing all the clam liquor with a strongly flavoured stock.
Common mistakes
- Salting early: the clam liquor may already be quite salty.
- Keeping the clams in the pan for the entire pasta cooking time: add them back near the finish.
- Assuming all fregula cooks in the same time: taste your own brand.
Italy by Taste home adaptation, guided by published regional references. Not kitchen-tested for this edition.
Read further
Regional fregula preparation · Gambero Rosso recipe by Annalisa Barbagli · Shellfish selection and handling