Spaghetti alle Vongole Day

The story

Spaghetti alle vongole is the coastal classic of clams tossed with spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, parsley, and a splash of white wine. Fresh vongole open in a hot pan, releasing briny liquor that becomes the sauce; the pasta finishes cooking in that liquid so every strand tastes of the sea. Some cooks add a touch of tomato; others keep the dish bianco—pale, fragrant, and pure. Either way, the pleasure is immediacy: clams, pasta, and a table that feels like a harbor in summer.

The dish belongs to southern and coastal Italy, where seafood and durum pasta meet with minimal fuss. Success depends on fresh shellfish, restrained garlic, and pasta cooked just shy of done before it drinks the clam juices. On Spaghetti alle Vongole Day, scrub clams well, sauté garlic in oil, steam the shellfish open with wine, and marry them with spaghetti and chopped parsley.

Serve with lemon wedges and crusty bread for mopping the juices. Celebrating vongole is celebrating Italy's talent for letting the sea speak through a simple bowl of pasta.