Fregula with clams and cherry tomatoes

Method

1. Coarsely chop the dried tomatoes and finely chop 1 clove of garlic with parsley. Wash the cherry tomatoes and halve them.
2. Heat 4 spoonfuls of oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the onion lightly with the dried tomatoes and a whole clove of garlic.
3. Then add the cherry tomatoes and the fregula after 5 minutes. Stir gently for a few minutes.
4. Add the water from the de-shelled clam container and continue to cook pouring in  some hot water every now and then, as you do with risotto.
5. Leave to cook for approximately 15 minutes and then, while the fregula is still tough and in the broth, add salt to taste, the parsley and garlic mixture and finally some fresh, minced red hot chilli pepper.
6. Take off the stove, place the shell clams on the fregula and let the dish rest covered for 5 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with some olive oil and serve.

Chef's tip

In case you can't find the fregula pasta at your grocery store, you can use some tiny soup-pasta or even make some! Otherwise, since this pasta variety is very similar to couscous and bulgur, you can substitute either of these two products.

Serving suggestion

Serve with a fish-based main course.

Wine selection

Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay or Pinot gris.

Family tip

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Dish history

Fregula with clams and tomatoes is a very typical Sardinian dish. The fregula pasta, in fact, is traditionally made on this beautiful sunny island by rubbing durum wheat flour together with water in a terracotta bowl, until it sticks together forming little balls of 2 to 6 mm each. It resembles couscous a bit and can be replaced by it too, but it's also very easy to make at home, and many recipes can be found in the internet. Enjoy this dish at the beginning of a fish-based meal and get that holiday feeling for a while!