The Pasta I Crave Every Time I’m Near the Sea Recipe

At the country’s most southeastern edge, Italy spills into France. On one side, the small, brightly hued city of Menton, France, rightly boastful of its lemons and more than 316 days of sunshine a year. A small sign, a dashed line on the map, and you’re in Liguria, Italy. Borders, as we know, are constructs. Regardless, on either side, you’re never far from the sea, and pasta abounds. — Rebekah Peppler

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Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• ¾ cup coarse, day-old bread crumbs
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 fennel bulb, bulb very thinly sliced and fronds finely chopped
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• Fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 pound dried pasta, such as bucatini, spaghetti or linguine
• 4 tablespoons unsalted European butter, at room temperature
• Pinch saffron threads, gently crushed with your fingertips or with a mortar and pestle
• 2 pounds small clams, cleaned
• 1 cup Marinated Lemons (recipe follows below)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

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In a small skillet over medium-high heat, toast the bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the fennel fronds and lemon zest and cook for 30 seconds more. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of the olive oil until hot. Add the shallots and sliced fennel and cook, stirring often, until the shallots are translucent and the fennel is soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the garlic and red pepper flakes and continue to cook for 1 minute more.

While the shallots and fennel cook, add the pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, 2 to 3 minutes fewer than the package directions (it should still have a slight crunch in the center). Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the saffron to the shallot-fennel mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Add the clams, tossing to combine, then add the marinated lemons and pour in the wine and ¼ cup of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. Cover the skillet and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the clams open, 4 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, pick out the clams and transfer to a large bowl, discarding any clams that have not opened. Loosely cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the pasta and another ¼ cup of the pasta cooking liquid to the skillet and stir to coat. Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and continue to cook, stirring and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta and the pasta is al dente, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, return the clams to the pot, add the lemon juice, and toss to combine.

Transfer the pasta to a platter, sprinkle with the fennel-frond bread crumbs, and serve with additional lemon wedges.