Spaghetti alle vongole

Soak the vongole in generously salted water about two hours so they expel their sand; larger ones may need three or four hours.

Drain through a colander, leaving the dirty water and sand behind.

Chop the parsley, keeping the stems, which carry the flavor.

Over low heat put a very generous amount of olive oil in a large pan and grate in the garlic.

Add half the parsley and cook about 30 seconds, until the garlic turns golden.

Add the vongole, stir, turn to medium low, add a little tap water and a little sea salt.

Cover so the steam cooks the vongole, about five minutes, until the sound of them opening stops.

Pour everything through a colander to filter the juice of any sand released on opening, keeping the juice; take out the vongole and wash the pan.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a tablespoon of salt and cook the thin spaghetti eight minutes, to al dente.

Large clams: take the meat out of the shells and discard the shells; small ones stay whole.

Return the filtered juice to the clean pan and squeeze in half the lemon, catching the pips by hand; keep the heat very low.

Put the drained spaghetti straight into the sauce, keep a mug of pasta water aside, and toss or stir fast with tongs to make it creamy, adding pasta water as needed.

Add the vongole, the other half of the lemon, a little pasta water and a touch of olive oil; toss, then add the rest of the parsley and toss again.

Plate the pasta, cover with the vongole and juice, add a touch of parsley and finish with a little olive oil.