Spaghetti Alle Vongole in Bianco

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 3 pounds fresh small clams, such as littlenecks, Manilas, or cockles
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
• 3 medium cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 pound dried spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, optional
• Small handful minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water, then add enough salt so it tastes as salty as the sea. Put the clams in the water and leave them for 30 minutes. Scoop the clams out and pour off the sandy water; if grit has collected in the bowl, rinse the bowl and do the soak again until the clams stop releasing sand, usually 2 to 3 purging cycles. Throw away any clams that stay gaping open after you tap or prod them.
2. Pour the oil into a large skillet, then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Set the pan over medium heat and cook until the garlic turns just barely golden, about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed so everything stays at a gentle sizzle.
3. Add the white wine and clams to the skillet, cover the pan, and turn the heat to high. Cook for about 5 minutes total, checking every 30 seconds or so and moving each clam to a large heatproof bowl as it opens. Once they have all opened, take the skillet off the heat.
4. Let the clams cool just a bit, then remove the meat from the shells. Set aside a few clams still in their shells for each serving as garnish. If the clam meat is on the larger side, such as from larger littleneck clams, roughly chop it.
5. In a pot or large skillet of lightly salted water, cook the pasta until it is just under al dente, about 1 minute less than the package recommends. Move the pasta into the skillet with the white-wine sauce, add a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water, and cook over high heat, stirring and tossing quickly, until the sauce tightens and starts to cling to the noodles in a creamy, emulsified coating. Add the butter, if using, along with the clam meat and the reserved shell-on clams. Cook, stirring, until the butter has melted and the clams are warmed through, about 1 minute; if the sauce reduces too much and starts looking dry or greasy, loosen it with more pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Taste and add salt only if needed. Take the pan off the heat.
6. Stir in the parsley and a fresh drizzle of olive oil. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately.