Clam Spaghetti in Butter Lime and Basil Sauce

Method

1. Soak the clams in cold salted water with a crushed chili so they release all their grit, then scrub the shells clean.
2. Bring water to the boil and cook the spaghetti for exactly the time on the packet. Once done, drain it in a colander without rinsing it in cold water, which would leave it hard and chalky.
3. Heat a pot or a pan with a lid over low heat, melt 30g of unsalted butter, then fry 3 cloves of minced garlic until fragrant.
4. Add 150g of diced cherry tomato and cook for about 1 minute.
5. Tip in the clams, stir once, cover, and turn the heat from medium up to high so the shells open.
6. As soon as the clams open, add 1 tablespoon of lime juice, the chopped basil, salt and pepper, and shake the pan so the clams take up the sauce.
7. Lift the pasta onto plates, spoon the clam sauce over, finish with a few basil leaves and serve hot.

Tips

• Soaking the clams in lightly salted water with a crushed chili draws out the grit before the shells get scrubbed.
• Cooking the pasta for exactly the time on the packet, with no cold rinse, keeps it from turning hard and chalky.
• Clams that give off a lot of liquid thin the sauce, so boiling them separately, picking the meat and keeping the liquor works better.
• Lemon is the better choice here, as lime turns bitter when heated.
• Fresh basil is easy enough to come by, and dried basil stands in when there is none.