Fregola con Arselle - A Traditional Recipe from Sardinia

Part of our philosophy is that we are not the experts on Italian culture, however, we know the experts and know how to bring them to you – our readers.  That is why we know you will appreciate this traditional Sardinian recipe brought to us by Giulia Garau - an Italian travel lover living in Sardinia. 

This will surely be a dish of "pasta and clams" unlike any other you have ever had before!

Typical of Sardinia, fregola or fregula is a kind of dried pasta made of semolina dough. It resembles couscous and can be prepared in several ways. The most common (and my favorite!) is with clams (arselle, or vongole). It is prepared at home by Sardinian families, but you can easily find it in the fish-based restaurants in Sardinia too. This is how I prepare it, although there are a few variants according to one’s personal taste.

Ingredients:

200/250 gr. Fregola

1Kg Clams

2 cloves of garlic

Extra virgin olive oil

Parsley (about 2 spoons)

Sun dried tomatoes (or chilli)

Peeled tomatoes or tomato sauce

1 Lt. Fish stock (fumetto di pesce) or hot water

First of all, you need to purge the clams. Immerse them in abundant fresh water and salt for at least an hour. Change the water a couple of times in order to remove the residual sand.

Place the clams in a low, wide pan over high heat; they will open and will release some water. Once opened (it takes only a few minutes) separate the shellfish from the shells.

Set aside a few shells for decoration.

Filter the remaining cooking liquid and keep it aside.

Take another pan and lightly fry the garlic (chopped or whole, if you want to remove it before serving) with the sun dried tomatoes. Add the clams, mix and add a little tomato sauce to it (at your taste). Cover with abundant fish stock (a variant: instead of the fish stock you can mix hot water with the filtered cooking liquid).

When boiling, add the fregola and let it cook, adding the fish stock from time to time when necessary. Add a sprinkling of parsley just before switching off the gas.

Add salt and chilli according to your taste.

Buon appetito!!

Giulia works in the tourism field for a local travel agency, specialized in luxury hotels inSardinia.  She runs the blog CharmingItaly.com, where she shares information about Italy. You can reach her on Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon. 

Tante grazie a Giulia!