Gino's Sardinian linguine with clams

In true Gino style - he's still on his summer holiday and sunning himself on the island of Sardinia! Not one to miss out, he's bringing the sunshine into our homes cooking linguine with clams live from one of his favourite spots on the island, Olbia on the north east coast.

Serves: 4Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredient

700g fresh clams in their shells50ml dry White Wine8 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil3 Garlic Cloves, Peeled And Sliced½ teaspoon Dried Chilli Flakes15 Cherry Tomatoes, Halved4 tabelspoons Freshly Chopped Flatleaf Parsley500g LinguineSalt to taste

Method

Bring 5 litres of water to the boil in a large saucepan with 1½ tablespoons of fine salt.

Wash the clams under cold running water, discarding any broken ones and any that do not close when tapped firmly.

Put a large saucepan over a high heat, carefully add the clams and pour over the wine. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes until they have opened. Discard any that remain closed. Tip into a colander placed over a large bowl and set aside, reserving the cooking liquor.

Pour the oil into the same saucepan in which you cooked the clams and gently fry the garlic for 1 minute until it begins to sizzle. Add the chilli, tomatoes and parsley and pour in the reserved liquor from the clams. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. To get the al dente perfect bite, cook the pasta for 1 minute less than instructed on the packet and always keep the pan uncovered. A good-quality dried pasta will take 8–10 minutes to cook.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and tip back into the same saucepan in which you cooked it.

Pour over the sauce, add the clams and very gently stir together over a low heat for 30 seconds allowing the sauce to thicken and coat the pasta evenly. Serve immediately.