Vongole with fried bread and parsley

I made this one for a job with Harris Farm (watch it here), and it was just what this warmer weather ordered. It’s a very simple and remarkably impressive to whip up and impress your guests with at your next lunch. You can fry the bread and chop all the bits beforehand and then toss in the vongole and serve in just a few minutes. You can also skip the bread and toss some pasta through this as well and you’ve got a pretty classic spaghetti alle vongole. Enjoy!

You'll need:

500g fresh vongole
Olive oil
1 lemon
½ long red chilli
3 cloves garlic
½ cup dry white wine
⅓ day-old baguette
1 bunch parsley

Method

Rinse any grit off your vongole and set aside in the fridge.

Finely dice the chilli and garlic and set aside. Finely chop the parsley and set aside separately.

Cut the bread into 1–2cm cubes. In a large frypan, add about ½cm of olive oil and heat over medium heat, it shouldn't be smoking. Add the bread when the oil is hot enough to sizzle instantly, and cook over medium heat until golden and crisp on all sides. Set aside on paper towel.

Wipe out the pan and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli, followed by the vongole. Pour over the wine and pop the lid on for a minute. Remove the lid and allow the liquid to reduce as the vongole pop open.

Once they’ve all opened, turn off the heat and stir through the parsley and a big squeeze of lemon. Tumble in the fried bread and toss so it gets coated in all those vongole juices.

Plonk it in the middle of the table with an extra drizzle of olive oil and some extra lemon on the side. Eat with your hands in the sunshine with friends.