Fregola with Clams: Sardinian Seafood Pasta
Fregola with clams has the comfort of pasta and the depth of a seafood broth. The small toasted pasta pearls drink in clam juices, tomato and olive oil.
The best version tastes clean rather than heavy. You want the fregola tender, the broth glossy and the clams just opened.
Why Toasted Fregola Works with Seafood
Fregola has a lightly nutty flavour from drying and toasting. That makes it especially good with shellfish, because it keeps its own character while absorbing the broth.
Cook it more like a risotto than a boiled pasta: add liquid as needed and let the starch thicken the sauce naturally.
Ingredients for Fregola with Clams
- 320 g fregola
- 1 kg clams – cleaned and purged
- 2 garlic cloves
- 250 g cherry tomatoes – halved
- Dry white wine
- Parsley
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and chilli – to taste
Cook Fregola in the Clam Broth
- Open the clams.
Cook the clams with garlic, oil and a splash of wine until they open. Strain and keep the juices. - Start the tomato base.
Cook garlic and cherry tomatoes gently until the tomatoes soften. - Add fregola.
Stir in the fregola and add the reserved clam liquid plus hot water as needed. - Return the clams.
When the fregola is tender, add the clams back and finish with parsley and olive oil.
Keep the Clam Flavour Clean
- Strain the clam liquid.
This removes grit without losing flavour. - Salt late.
Clam juice can already be salty. - Do not overcook the clams.
Add them back only at the end.
Serving Fregola
Serve in shallow bowls while the sauce is still loose and glossy. A little parsley and olive oil are enough.
More Sardinian Recipes
Continue with Malloreddus Campidanese, Pane Carasau Lasagne.
