Bring a taste of coastal Italy into your own kitchen with this surprisingly easy-to-make (and unsurprisingly flavorful) pasta and clam dish.

Makes 4 servings

Instructions:

1. Fill a large pot with water, add enough salt so the water tastes like seawater, and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package until 2 minutes shy of al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan until shimmering. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Add the cockles and white wine, and shake to combine. Cover, and cook until the cockles open, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the lid, and discard any cockles that haven’t opened. Add the butter, parsley, and red pepper flakes, and shake the pan to combine.
3. Drain the pasta, and add it to the pan with cockles. Cook, tossing to combine, until the pasta is al dente and absorbs some of the clam juices. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and serve immediately with a slice of bread on the side to sop up the juice in the bowl.

Recipes reprinted from Season with Authority: Confident Home Cooking. Copyright © 2015 by Marc Murphy. Photography by Cedric Angeles. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. For more recipes perfect for the home cook, pick up your own copy of Season with Authority: Confident Home Cooking on Amazon.com.