Tagliatelle with chickpea cream and clams

Name: Tagliatelle with chickpea cream and clams
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Clams 1.1 lbs; Precooked chickpeas 1.67 cups; Egg Tagliatelle pasta 13.5 oz; Garlic 2 cloves; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Parsley to taste

it br es fr de

485

Calories per serving

Lactose Free

Energy Kcal 485
Carbohydrates g 82.8
of which sugars g 4.3
Protein g 19.6
Fats g 8.4
of which saturated fat g 1.48
Fiber g 11.8
Cholesterol mg 102
Sodium mg 859

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Average
Note plus 1 hour to purge the clams

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Anna Langellotto

Tagliatelle with chickpea cream and clams is one of those dishes that just captures the essence of the Campanian coast. I mean, it’s really, really good. This seafood pasta recipe takes a cue from the classic spaghetti alle vongole, but here's the thing—it switches things up with a silky, creamy chickpea pasta sauce. Really creamy. Each bite gives you a smooth and moist feel. The chickpeas get blended into a mellow base, soaking up those juicy clams, letting their natural brininess shine. Seriously good stuff.

What you end up with is this mix of tender pasta and fresh seafood, plus a hint of earthiness from the legumes. Folks in Campania? They love how the tagliatelle with chickpea cream and clams shows off the region’s knack for simple but flavorful food. Every forkful, honestly, has a little creamy richness balanced by that slight tangy kick from the sea. It's special. Pretty much.

In southern Italy, many will say that twirling the pasta into the chickpea cream sauce is what brings it all together. And, look, the flavors get all wrapped up. The chickpea adds a soft, almost buttery note that makes those clams pop even more. You end up with a bowl of seafood tagliatelle that’s light but filling—perfect for sharing when you want to impress your friends with something golden and a little unexpected.

Some families in Campania like to throw in a sprinkle of parsley or a squeeze of lemon at the end for extra freshness. But even just as it is, this tagliatelle with clams recipe brings all the crisp sea air right to your table. And here's the deal: it’s that balance of the creamy chickpea sauce with the bright, briny clams that makes this one of those Mediterranean pasta dishes you’ll want to come back to again and again. Whether it’s a quiet dinner or a big meal with friends, these flavors just work together in a way that feels both old and new. Enjoy a touch of Campania with every delicious bite and let the Italian coastal cooking transport you to a place where simplicity meets elegance in the best possible way. For real.

How to prepare Tagliatelle with chickpea cream and clams

To prepare the tagliatelle with chickpea cream and clams, first, clean the clams. Rinse them under running water, then tap them on a surface 1 to remove some sand. In a bowl, place some water with a pinch of salt and stir to dissolve it 2, add the clams 3, and leave them in the water for 1 hour.

After this time, chop the parsley 4 and set it aside. Then pour a drizzle of oil into a saucepan, add a clove of garlic 5, and let it brown. Then add the chickpeas 6,

a glass of water 7, a pinch of salt, and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, as just done, brown another clove of garlic with a drizzle of oil in another pan 8. Then remove the pan from the heat and add the well-drained clams. Put it back on the heat 9

and cover with a lid. Let the clams open over high heat, and as soon as they are all open, remove the garlic 10 and turn off the heat. Once the chickpeas are cooked, remove the garlic from here as well; transfer about 1/3 of them to a bowl 11 and set them aside. Blend the remaining chickpeas in the pan with an immersion blender 12.

At this point, add the whole chickpeas to the cream 13, add a pinch of black pepper, the clams 14, and their filtered cooking water 15.

Add some chopped parsley 16 and cook the tagliatelle in plenty of boiling salted water 17. Then drain them when there's about 1 minute of cooking left and transfer them to the saucepan with the chickpea cream and clams 18.