Recipes

Fregola with clams

Fregola with clams is a typical first course of Sardinian cuisine, very tasty and tasty. Here's how to prepare it with the original recipe.

Fregola is a typical pasta shape from Sardagna . It boasts a thousand-year history that is inextricably intertwined with other typical local products such as fish and shellfish . After all, where could fregola with clams originate if not along the coast of this magnificent island?

Also known as fregula with cocciula in Sardinian dialect, it is prepared in different ways depending on the area. The most popular version is the one with tomato that we propose, with the fregula risotto together with the liquid released by the clams . In fact, this is how we had the opportunity to try it directly on site. However, the green light is given to versions that are plain or do not include wine. But let's go in order: let's see all the steps to prepare fregola with clams which, incidentally, in Sardinia are clams !

How to prepare the fregola recipe with clams

Start by purging the clams for a few hours in water and salt . The ideal would be to leave it for at least 12 hours , changing the water from time to time, but if you are in a hurry a couple of hours are enough. Then transfer them to a colander and rinse them to remove all the sand.
Pour two rounds of oil into the pan, the clove of garlic and leave to flavor for a few minutes before adding the clams, which have been drained well.
Add the wine (optional) and cover with the lid. Continue cooking until the clams have opened: it will take about 5 minutes .
Filter the liquid they have released and keep it aside. Clean half the clams by removing the shells and keep the remaining ones whole.
In the same pan, heat another two turns of oil with the garlic , let it brown then remove it and add the peeled tomatoes crushed with a fork. Add salt and leave for 5 minutes .
Add the fregola and start cooking as if it were a risotto : add the filtered clam liquid little by little until the pasta is cooked. If necessary you can add a few ladles of water. In total it will take about 15 minutes. One minute before the end of cooking, add all the clams.
Season with freshly chopped parsley and serve hot or after letting it cool.

Among the most famous variations of the dish is fregola with clams in white . In this case, after opening the clams, heat the oil and garlic in a pan. Add the fregola, add another half glass of wine and then cook it, adding approximately 1.5 liters of fish broth . Complete with parsley and serve.

If you don't like peeled tomatoes you can replace them with the same weight of tomato puree , as seen in this video , or with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste .

Conservation

The fregola with clams can be kept in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2 days. Reheat it in a pan before serving by adding a drizzle of oil.

Origin and history

Some testimonies date fregola (or fregula) back to over 1000 years ago . In fact, experts are divided: there are those who believe it was born from the expert hands of the Sardinians and those who instead maintain that it spread to the island following trade with the Phoenicians and Punics . In any case, one of the first written traces dates back to the 14th century: the statute of the millers of Tempio Pausania established that it could only be prepared from Monday to Friday in order to conserve water for agricultural work on the weekend.

However, the name can be traced back to two Latin terms: frilare , i.e. rubbing with the hands in reference to the production technique, and fercula i.e. crumbs. In fact, Sardinian fregula is obtained by rubbing durum wheat semolina and water with the hands until crumbs of dough form. These are then roasted in the oven taking on a darker color and a unique and inimitable flavour. In Campidano it is customary to also add saffron to the mixture which helps to make the color even more straw yellow.

Fregola with clams has always been the dish for special occasions. It was cooked in large copper pots, còppu , placed directly on the fire. Poorer but equally delicious was the fregula incasada , flavored with parsley, tomato, saffron and a cascade of pecorino, all ingredients present in abundance on the island.

As mentioned then, in Sardinia clams are clams , unlike the rest of Italy. In fact, it is enough to take a look at the recipe forspaghetti with clams typical of Tuscany to realize the difference between these two molluscs.