INGREDIENTS
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
60 ml white wine
1 kg fresh cockles/clams (vongole), rinsed
sea salt flakes
1 handful flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, roughly chopped
600 g fresh linguine

TO MAKE

To prepare the tomatoes, boil the kettle and pour the boiling water in a heatproof bowl. Score a cross in the base of each tomato and put them in the bowl of hot water. Leave the tomatoes in the bowl until the skin starts to peel away, about 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes from the bowl and peel away the skin, then slice and finely dice.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and sauté until soft and lightly coloured, about three to five minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes, then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the clams, put a lid on the saucepan and cook, covered, for about five minutes, until all the clam shells have opened. (Discard any clams that have not opened.) Season lightly with sea salt (as clams can be quite salty). Add some freshly ground pepper and garnish with chopped parsley.

Add the linguine to the boiling water and cook for three to four minutes until al dente. Drain and toss with the cockles.

Serves four.

Recipe and images from My Italian Kitchen by Laura Cassai. Published by Hardie Grant.